The Resource Book

THE RESOURCE BOOK

An ongoing project to encourage Yale alumni to write about their alumni activities and why they are motivated to share their time, talent and treasure with Yale and the community

To the Alumni of Universities throughout the World who would choose to share in the YaleGALE mission

“We come together to share our traditions, to instill the values of leadership and service among our fellow alumni, to use our resources in service of society, and to position our great universities as institutions of global consequence.”

With gratitude and appreciation,

The Association of Yale Alumni Yale University

Table of Contents1

INTRODUCTION ...... 4 YALE AND ITS ALUMNI: A HISTORY ...... 6 ESTABLISHING COLLEGE TRADITIONS ...... 12 THE ASSOCIATION OF YALE ALUMNI ...... 15 AYA: A PERSONAL HISTORY ...... 18 AYA ASSEMBLIES ...... 20 AYA BOARD OF GOVERNORS ...... 22 AYA BOARD OF GOVERNORS ...... 25 GRADUATE SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ...... 27 AYA COMMUNITY SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS ...... 28 YALE CLUBS ...... 34 YALE CLUB OF BOSTON ...... 34 YALE CLUB OF CHICAGO ...... 35 THE CINCINNATI YALE CLUB ...... 36 YALE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND ...... 42 YALE CLUB OF GEORGIA ...... 43 THE YALE CLUB OF HARTFORD IN BRIEF ...... 45 THE YALE CLUB OF HARTFORD ...... 45 THE YALE CLUB OF NEW HAVEN ...... 49 THE YALE CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY ...... 51 CLASS LUNCHEONS AT THE YALE CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY ...... 52 YALE CLUB OF PITTSBURGH ...... 54 YALE CLUB OF THE SUNCOAST...... 57 YALE CLASSES ...... 59 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1947 ...... 59 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1951 ...... 59 YALE DIVINITY SCHOOL CLASS OF 1952 ...... 61 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1956 ...... 63 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1957 AND SOM ‘85 ...... 64 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1959 ...... 65 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1966 ...... 67 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1970 ...... 68 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1982 ...... 69 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1982 ...... 70 YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 2007 ...... 71 FELLOWSHIPS ...... 73 WENDY E. BLANNING MEMORIAL FELLOWSHIP ...... 73 CINCINNATI YALE CLUB SCHOLARSHIP FUND ...... 75 ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE...... 77 ASC IN CHICAGO ...... 80 ASC IN CINCINNATI ...... 83 ASC IN FRESNO, CA ...... 86 ASC IN GEORGIA...... 87 ASC IN PHILADELPHIA AND SAN FRANCISCO ...... 89

1 The narratives included in this Resource Book represent the views and opinions of the alumni volunteers of Yale and do not necessarily represent official policies or current practices of Yale University.

ASC IN WEST TEXAS ...... 90 GLOBAL ALUMNI LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE ...... 91 SHARED INTEREST GROUPS ...... 93 THE YALE ALUMNI CHORUS ...... 93 THE YALE DAILY NEWS FOUNDATION ...... 94 YALE GLEE CLUB ASSOCIATES (YGCA)...... 96 THE YALE VETERAN’S ASSOCIATION: A BEGINNING ...... 97 WOMEN OF JE CLASS OF 1973 ...... 97 WOMEN’S INTERCOLLEGIATE SPORTS ENDOWMENT & RESOURCE ...... 99 BULLDOGS SUMMER PROGRAM ...... 101 BULLDOGS ON THE CUYAHOGA ...... 101 BULLDOGS IN SAN FRANCISCO ...... 103 BULLDOGS IN SANTA FE ...... 103 BRANFORD COLLEGE FELLOWSHIP ...... 106 EXTERNSHIPS ...... 107 CASE STUDIES ...... 108 DWIGHT HALL AND BEYOND ...... 108 REFLECTIONS ON MY ROLE AS AN ALUMNA ...... 109 COMMENTS ON ALUMNI RELATIONS ...... 110 MY YALE EXPERIENCES AFTER YALE...... 111 THE ALUMNI RELATIONS JOURNEY ...... 113 REFLECTIONS ...... 114 OTHER REFLECTIONS ...... 115

INTRODUCTION

Presented here is a tapestry of inestimable engagement, the work of many volunteers over a lifetime of service to Yale. It is a cumulative narrative of over 50 years of alumni service – our oldest contributor is from the Yale School of Nursing Class of 1948, the youngest from the Class of 2007.

In the following pages the Yale alumni participating in this exchange share with you the experiences they have garnered in fostering alumni relations at Yale.

In preparing this book, we understand that there are significant challenges for universities at this time that make it imperative that alumni relations begin to play a larger role in their success. There are seven critical issues that have been identified:

1. Tough operating environment. 2. Significant decrease in government subsidies. 3. Increased importance and need to seek outside funds. 4. Universities lack basic understanding of the importance of an alumni association. 5. Need better sense of “mission” – that is, direction and purpose. 6. Need formal organizational structure. 7. Need more financial resources and investment by the universities.

Yet, the atmosphere is quite different in each country in the world and definitely distinct from from the United States so that many of the ideas presented in this book cannot be implemented immediately but, perhaps, will be effective over time or in a different format.

“Major gifts” fundraising – personal, direct, intense, one to one solicitations – is by far the most effective technique used in the U.S. However, this can lead to confrontations and the situation of “losing face” if the negotiations become complicated and prospects reject fundraisers’ requests. Therefore, many Japanese fundraisers avoid these techniques because of a fear of rejection and concern that a “direct ask” may cause unease in donors and completely destroy the relationship with them. From “Comparative Study of US of Japan,” Onishi, 2005.

Over the years, Yale and its alumni have learned that fundraising is not asking for money. It is inspiring people to give. The direction and purpose of an alumni association is to inspire people to give time, talent, and treasure. Japanese fundraisers (and US fundraisers, too!) must change the fundraising paradigm from…“institutionally-driven” fundraising programs (for example… “The university needs your money.”) to donor-driven” programs. (for example…“I want to give to the university because I know they use the money in ways which are important to me and I personally am able to make a difference in the lives of others.”)

Alumni associations should help volunteers and donors create their own programs, programs in which they want to get involved and participate in the life of the university. Many universities make the mistake of creating programs in which they believe alumni “must” participate, rather than those in which they “want” to participate.

Giving is learned – by teaching and experiencing. Individuals go through a number of stages over their lifetime in their ability and capacity to give. Alumni associations have to teach and provide the experience.

We mature and grow from one stage to the next… Stage 1: Giving to “get” something to… Stage 2: Giving to look good in the eyes of others, to… Stage 3: Giving for the sake of the institution, to… Stage 4: Giving for the good of society, to… Stage 5: Giving because it is the right thing to do. From Kohlberg Cognitive Theory

You have to capture the head and the heart before you capture the pocket book!

“New age donors are “hands-on.” They want to participate in the design, operation, and measurement of their endeavors. (They don’t want the staff to do it for them, but rather help them.) They want to see results and create real and lasting partnerships with people and institutions.” From: The Index of Global Philanthropy 2007

“Volunteers are looking to support change, not charity; volunteers are more and more concerned with the impact of their gifts of time, talent and treasure. They bring to their nonprofit organization their career experience and knowledge with a view that volunteering and giving should be market-conscious and knowledge-based, with outcomes that can be measured.” Paul Schervish, Boston College

This compendium of contributions by some of Yale’s most involved alumni is testimony to the power of the alumni body and the many ways that alumni take initiative and give back so much to the university because of their loyalty and dedication to the institution and its mission. Some alumni volunteer on behalf of their class, some on behalf of their regional clubs, and some for shared interest or affinity groups.

They give not merely money, they give a more important gift – themselves, their time and talent.

In so doing they convey to the next generation of students values of leadership, virtue, and service.

In so doing, they change lives in the communities where they live and work, and make manifest the Yale vision of training leaders.

In so doing they demonstrate to a world in desperate need of light and truth that the volunteer efforts of a few can make a difference.

The accompanying documents have been conveyed largely intact, and in their entirety. They have not been edited, changed, or emended to make them “uniform.” They represent a diversity of styles and engagement, and in their diversity they are the personal expressions of alumni giving back in grateful support for what they have received from previous generations of alumni. Of whom much has been given, much will be asked.

We hope that you will take joy in volunteering on behalf of your great institution. It is your time, talent, and treasure, given in service to, and on behalf of, your university that in the end can and will change lives.

YALE AND ITS ALUMNI: A HISTORY

This chronology traces the development of alumni organization at Yale over more than two centuries. It documents the central role of alumni in the support and governance of Yale, starting with Jared Eliot, BA 1706, the first graduate to become a trustee in 1730, and Naphtali Daggett, BA 1748, who became the first endowed professor in 1755 and president pro tem in 1766. Throughout its history Yale has drawn heavily on its alumni to staff both faculty and administration.

Several aspects of alumni activity appear to have originated at Yale and were emulated later at other institutions. Among these are:

1. the affiliation of alumni with specific undergraduate classes; 2. the appointment of class officers to maintain lifelong involvement of classmates with one another and with Yale; 3. class reunions; 4. the organization of a broadly representative alumni association and a companion fund-raising body; 5. the establishment of regional associations of alumni; and others enumerated below.

Yale was not always the first institution to establish such alumni relationships, but it was never far behind. Why Yale? It is a reasonable speculation that one answer lies in the personality and style of President Ezra Stiles, who led Yale from 1778 to 1795. He took enormous pleasure in ceremony and tradition. He used these outward displays effectively to unify faculty and students in the later years of the Revolution, when the British frequently threatened to raid New Haven, disrupting College life and requiring classes to be dispersed inland. Although documentation is vague, it seems certain that the fostering of loyalty to a college class and the development of lifelong associations on that basis had their beginning in the later years of Stiles’ presidency.

MILESTONES IN ALUMNI RELATIONS AT YALE

1792: Affiliation by class year….

1792 Yale is thought to be the first college to have identified its alumni on the basis of their affiliation with specific undergraduate classes, the basic step in organizing alumni affairs. Since at least 1792, with a few exceptions, Class Secretaries named during senior year have compiled class address lists and biographical records and arranged for class reunions and events. The Rev. Timothy Mather Cooley compiled biographical summaries for each member of his Class of 1792, the earliest such records in the Yale archives.

1821 July 18. Henry White, 1821 was appointed Secretary of the class of 1821 and began a Class Record book which he maintained for 55 years. This is the earliest continuous biographical record of a Yale College class.

1824 One-half of the graduating class of 1821 returned to New Haven at Commencement by common agreement to receive an M.A. degree, a practice derived from the English system. Although graduates from Yale’s earliest days also had returned to receive their M.A. degrees three or more years after receiving their first degree, the tradition established by the Class of 1821 strengthened a cycle of triennial reunions that eventually was refined into the five-year system of class reunions known today.

1827: Beginnings of an alumni association….

1827 September. “The Society of the Alumni” was formed with the avowed object of “sustaining and advancing the interests of the college.” The Society of Alumni was a membership organization “confined to graduates who paid at least two dollars annually to the funds of the college.” An outgrowth of earlier alumni affairs activities, this was the first of many refinements in the formal organization of alumni affairs to follow. After two years no record of its existence could be found, but in August of 1842 The Society of the Alumni of Yale College re-emerged at a general meeting of the graduates. In its new reincarnation, the organization broadened its platform by accepting “all graduates of the institution, in virtue of their graduation” as members of the Society, a policy which sustains to this day.

1831: Organized fundraising….

1831 September 13. The Century Millia Fund drive was announced, with the objective of raising $100,000 in one year from Yale alumni, faculty, parents and friends of the University for general endowment (the equivalent of approximately $20 million in 2008 dollars). This was the first organized effort to raise significant funds for endowment. As the goal was met it put Yale on a sound financial footing for several decades. It was followed by successful campaigns to raise funds for a new dormitory (1835) and for a new library in (1846).

1853: Athletic alumni associations….

1853 June. Following the first recorded intercollegiate sporting event in America, the Yale-Harvard boat race in 1852, a club known as The Yale Navy was organized to select and train crews for subsequent races. This became the Yale University Boat Club in 1870 which gradually evolved into a wholly alumni organization, the Yale Crew Association. Until 1916, when the Corporation established the Yale University Athletic Board of Control, the University had little involvement in or administrative control over undergraduate sports. The captain of each team was in full charge, usually with some assistance from former players. An association was organized for each sport, including both undergraduates and alumni who were former players. As the proportion of alumni to undergraduates naturally increased, the sports associations evolved into alumni groups devoted to the welfare and financial support of each sport. Numerous groups followed the Yale Crew Association, including the Yale Baseball Association (1865), the Yale Football Association and the Yale Track Association (1872), the Yale Tennis Association (1881), the Yale Gymnastic Association (1893), the Yale Basketball and Hockey Associations (1895), The Yale Golf Association (1896).

1864: Regional club associations….

1864 November 29. The Cincinnati Alumni Association was established, becoming the first regional Yale club and, it is believed, the first regional club of any college or university. In the next few years, other Yale clubs were founded. The process continues to this day, as additional cities and regions organize new associations. Notable founding dates include the Boston, Chicago, and St. Louis Alumni Associations (1866), Philadelphia and New York Alumni Associations (1868), New Haven Alumni Association (1873), Washington DC Alumni Association (1874), The Yale Club of the Pacific Coast (1877), the Colorado Yale Association (1882), the Yale Alumni Association of Pittsburgh (1891), and Baltimore (1896).

1871: Alumni representation in the governance of Yale….

1871 May 25. Daniel Coit Gilman, ‘52, then Secretary and a Trustee of the Sheffield Scientific School, published an article on the “Proposed Change in the Corporation of Yale College,” in The Nation. This article argued for the need for alumni representation in the governance of Yale College through membership on the Corporation. On July 11, 1871 the Yale Corporation accepted “An Act relating to Yale College” passed by the Connecticut General Assembly on July 6, which provided for the election of six graduates as Fellows of Yale College “in the stead of the six senior senators of the state.” In 1872 the first six individuals, are elected by their fellow alumni, as Alumni Fellow trustees of the Yale Corporation (all of them laymen): Joseph Earl Sheffield, William Barrett Washburn, Alphonso Taft, Henry Baldwin Harrison, William Maxwell Evarts and William Walter Phelps.

1890: Beginning of annual fundraising….

1890 June 23. In response to “a widespread sentiment among Yale graduates in favor of some systematic endeavor to increase the resources of the University,” the Corporation voted to establish an “Alumni University Fund.” Known now as the Yale Alumni Fund, this was the first organized effort to secure annual contributions to augment the operating budget.

1891: Beginning of formal alumni communications.…

1891 May 23. Volume I, Number 1 of the Yale Alumni Weekly published in specimen copy: “The object of this paper will be to bring before the graduates all University news which will be of especial interest to them, and to serve also as an organ for the expression of the opinions of graduates upon topics concerning the welfare and interest of Yale, thereby acting as a bond between the Alumni themselves, and between the Alumni and the University, by members of which it will be seen in the Library and in the reading room. The Yale Alumni Weekly was one of the first alumni publications in the United States, followed by the Harvard Graduates’ Magazine, a quarterly, a year later. The next alumni journal to appear was the Michigan Alumnus in 1894.

1890’s: Increased alumni activism….

1896 Yale graduates of Baltimore and vicinity organized the Yale Alumni Association of Maryland. The first president was Daniel Coit Gilman, ‘52, author of the 1871 article in The Nation which catalyzed sentiment for the election of alumni trustees to the Yale Corporation. In 1899 The Yale Club of Cincinnati became the first alumni organization to urge the selection of Arthur Twining Hadley, Professor of Political Economy, as the successor to President Dwight. This early alumni support was influential in the ultimate choice of Hadley as Yale’s ninth - and first - lay president. In 1905 Payson Merrill ’65 became the first lay graduate chosen by the Corporation to succeed one of the clerical successors of the original trustees. By 1917 half of the successor trustees were laymen, in recognition of the growing need for members with diverse qualifications and expertise. An Alumni Advisory Board was established by the Corporation on February 9, 1906 “to meet the desire of Yale graduates in different sections of the country for representation on the councils of the University” It was formally announced by President Hadley on February 24 at a meeting of the Federated Western Yale Clubs in St. Louis. In 1910 the Alumni Advisory Board issued a statement opposing President Hadley’s proposal of a pass-honors system for Yale College, to wit: “While opportunities for the minority who are keen for study should be constantly improved, the main purpose of Yale — as to undergraduates at least — is to fit the majority for useful work in the world. No scheme out of line with this thought would, we are satisfied, be approved by the alumni.”

1903: Alliance of Class Secretaries….

1903 January 23. At an informal meeting at the New York Yale Club, 29 Class Secretaries and others met to discuss the advisability of forming an association of Class Secretaries. On April 20, 1903 the constitution of The Yale Association of Class Secretaries was unanimously adopted and officers and an executive committee elected. A Handbook for Class secretaries, compiled by Frederick Dwight, ’94, Secretary of the Yale Association of Class Secretaries, was published in New Haven in 1910.

1903: International Alumni Associations.…

1903 November 7. The Yale University Alumni Association of China founded.

1903: Graduate and Professional School Alumni Associations….

1903 The Yale Law School Association founded with Cyrus Larue Munson, LL.B. ‘75 as its first president.

1914: Alumni educational convocations….

1914 February 22. Alumni University Day was inaugurated at Yale. It was held annually on Washington’s Birthday, generally a business holiday, to give alumni the opportunity “to study the University as a teaching organization, to see it in its working clothes, to study its educational problems.”

1917 The Corporation created an Alumni Committee on University Development, composed of a number of prominent and influential graduates, to generate alumni support for increases in the Endowment and faculty salaries following World War I. Widespread alumni discontent with Yale’s educational policies and with the administration quickly altered the Committee’s goal to encompass thorough-going reform, which forced corresponding action by the Corporation’s Committee on Educational Policy. On February 7, 1919, the Alumni Committee submitted thirteen revolutionary reform proposals to the Corporation and discussed them before a large audience at Alumni University Day, February 22. On March 8, the Corporation’s Committee on Educational Policy submitted a similar report which was ratified on March ‘7. Thus an alumni committee with widespread backing catalyzed the most comprehensive educational policy reform in Yale’s history, setting the stage for its postwar development as a leading world university.

1930 February 22. The Yale Library Associates organized, succeeding the Alumni Board subcommittee on the Library.

1941: Alumni interviewing of Yale College applicants….

1941 The Alumni Board and the Yale College Admissions Office organized an Enrollment and Scholarship Committee composed of alumni throughout the country to interview and recommend applicants from their regions. Its successor, the Alumni Schools Committees of the Yale Clubs, embraces several thousand alum n in a major volunteer activity for Yale. This important work has been little documented in official records and archives.

1947 June. The Corporation recommends establishment of a University Council of not more than 35 members and a President, “better adapted [than the Alumni Board], to the purpose of bringing the alumni into close contact with the University, or drawing upon their advice, and

of enlisting their active support in conducting its business and developing its resources.” The Council does its work through committees specializing in different areas of University concerns. The Council meets twice a year with the President and Officers of the University.

1949 The Yale Law School Alumni Fund established.

1952: Recognition of volunteer service.…

1952 February 22. As part of Yale’s 250th Anniversary, Yale Medals were awarded to fifteen alumni and others in recognition of “outstanding service to Yale.” The idea for this medal originated in the Alumni Board. The medal was designed by John Howard Benson of Newport, Rhode Island. Though fifteen medals were awarded in the first year, thereafter a maximum of five awards yearly were to be made.

1957 June 11-14. Yale Alumni Seminar instituted. Known as the University Seminar Programs, these two- to four-day programs were conducted by groups of Yale faculty members in a diverse array of intellectual disciplines. For many years they were offered in New Haven, Pebble Beach, California, New York City, Oxford, England and at other locations around the United States and the world.

1957 October ‘9. The Yale Development Committee formed. This group was the first organized alumni effort focussed on capital giving.

1965 February. The Yale Graduate School Alumni Association founded. In 1966 The Yale Graduate School Alumni Association established the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal to be awarded to one or more graduates of the Yale Graduate School for outstanding achievement in activities in which Dean Cross excelled, including scholarship, teaching and public service. Ralph Menconi, B.F.A. ‘39, designed the medal.

1968: Alumni Educational Travel Programs.…

1968 The first Alumni College Abroad held on the Rhine River with Professor Jaroslav Pelikan, then Dean of the Yale Graduate School, as the accompanying faculty lecturer. Later these travel-study programs spanned the globe and became a key component of the alumni association’s continuing education program.

1971: University funded central governing body for alumni activities.…

1969 A Commission on Alumni Affairs under the leadership of Martin Dwyer, ‘44, was created by the Yale Corporation to recommend a more representative structure for Yale’s alumni organization.

1970 December. The report of the Commission on Alumni Affairs was submitted to the Yale Corporation. The report was the most comprehensive study ever done of Yale’s interaction with its alumni. It recommended the establishment of a strong central governing body for all alumni activities.

1971 November 19. The Yale Corporation approved the establishment of the Association of Yale Alumni to replace the Yale Alumni Board, with four stated purposes, namely: to maintain the status of the University; to provide a channel of mutual communication between the alumni and the University; to oversee the direction of all alumni organizations and programs; and to provide the means (when appropriate) for the explication and forthright examination of University policies, in order that the University

position be explained to the Assembly and appropriate recommendations advanced to the Corporation.

1971 The Founding Board of Governors of the Association of Yale Alumni created the AYA Assembly, whose delegates constitute the governing body of the AYA.

1972 The first semi-annual Assembly of the AYA was held. Frederick P. Rose, ‘44E, was the first Chairman of the Board of Governors. The topic of Assembly I was “Admissions”, a subject of enduring interest to alumni.

1971: Alumnae participation and leadership…

1971 Marian Wright Edelman, ‘63 LL.B. elected as the first woman and first professional school Alumni Fellow representative to the Yale Corporation. In 1975 Maxine Frank Singer ‘57 Ph.D. becomes the first Graduate School alumna to serve on the Yale Corporation, first as an elected Fellow and subsequently as a Successor Fellow. In 1983 Deborah L. Rhode, ’77 J.D., was the first undergraduate alumna elected to the Yale Corporation. In 1988 Saundra Bialos, ’71 MSN was elected the first woman Chair of the AYA, followed in 1992 by J. Weili Cheng ’77, the first Yale College woman to Chair the AYA Board of Governors.

1979 The Campaign for Yale successfully concluded its $370 million capital fund drive, at that time the largest drive ever undertaken by an educational institution.

1982 The Yale Corporation directed that Alumni House be named Rose Alumni House, in honor of the first Chairman of the AYA, Frederick P. Rose, ‘44E, during the tenth anniversary celebration.

1983 The Yale Development Board established. A successor to the Yale Development Committee and The Campaign for Yale Executive Committee, this Board was set up to coordinate and support the development activities of the University, including capital campaigns and other special fund-raising activities.

1984 The Yale College Faculty approved, at the request of the AYA, the Alumni College Term Time program allowing alumni to return to campus and enroll in regular courses either for credit or audit. A significant element of the AYA’s continuing education program, this is the most intensive way in which alumni Yale can maintain intellectual ties to the University.

1990: Alumni sponsored community service fellowships for students….

1990 The AYA launched the Community Service Summer Fellowships for 13 students who are jointly, sponsored and funded by regional Yale Clubs. By its 10th anniversary in 2000, this program was sending out 39 Fellows each year, and had almost 300 alumni.

1992 A $1.5 billion capital campaign was launched under the direction of the Senior Fellow of the Yale Corporation, Vernon Loucks, Jr., ‘57 B.A., M.A.H.

1992 AYA Assembly XL, “20/200 Alumni and Yale: Perspectives and Challenges” held to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the AYA and the two hundredth anniversary of alumni affairs activity at Yale.

1993 The University begins a massive rebuilding of the Yale campus and its environs. The revitalization of both the campus physical plant and Yale’s surrounding neighborhoods in New Haven is in large measure funded by the generosity of Yale alumni.

1997 Fall. Yale celebrates the successful conclusion of the “... and for Yale” Campaign with a gala event in Commons. The campaign exceeded its $1.5 billion goal by $202 million for a grand total of $1.702 billion the largest amount ever raised by a private university at the time.

2001: Yale Tercentennial Celebrations

2007: Adoption of the AYA “Ambassadors for Yale” Strategic Plan emphasizing the importance of calling alumni to service on behalf of Yale as well as for Yale. The plan also recognizes the importance of Shared Interest Groups as well as Classes and Regional Associations.

ESTABLISHING COLLEGE TRADITIONS

These excerpts from a newsletter produced by Calhoun College, one of the twelve residential colleges for undergraduate students at Yale, provide some insight into the culture and atmosphere of life at Yale. Having a rich and fulfilling student life while on campus helps build dedication and loyalty to the university for a lifetime.

Calhoun College Newsletter Fall 2006-Spring 2007 Elizabeth Crawford ‘09

Calhoun Seniors Shine Calhoun was proud to have many award-winning students this year, including two Rhodes scholars: Maya Uma Shankar and Amia P. Srinivasan. Both Maya and Amia will continue their education at Oxford University in England, Maya to pursue her M.Sc. in Experimental Psychology and Amia to pursue a B.Phil. in Philosophy. Maya Shankar also received The Alpheus Henry Snow Prize, an award to the senior who, “through the combination of intellectual achievement, character, and personality, shall be adjudged by the faculty to have done the most for Yale by inspiring in his or her classmates an admiration and love for the best traditions of high scholarship.” Calhoun had two Fulbright Scholars, Christine Shih-Chi Tsang (Jordan); Daniel Richard Weisfield (China). Christine also received the Department of State Critical languages Scholarship.

Marissa Levendis was awarded the David Everett Chantler Award, an award given to the senior “who best exemplify the qualities of courage, strength of character and high moral purpose.” Among her accomplishments, Marissa was chosen for being a “vocal supporter of the unions Locals 34 and 35… advocate of efforts to organize New Haven’s hospital workers, the Community Benefits Agreement between the Yale-New Haven Hospital and New Haven community, and financial aid reform and economic diversity initiatives for Yale undergraduates. [She is] the founder and first executive director of Students for a New American Politics, which funds internships for students to work full time on progressive congressional campaigns during the summer months.”

Cristina Viñado, Calhoun College was awarded the Cohen Public Service Fellowship and the Parker Huang Undergraduate Travel Fellowship. Calhoun Junior, Daniel Turner-Evans, received the Council of Masters award in recognition of his dedication to Calhoun; he serves as president of the Calhoun College Council, intramural secretary, head of the freshman counselors program, and coordinator of both the residential college's Student Taskforce for Environmental Partnership (STEP) and "Hounsib" programs.

Calhoun Spirit On the spirit front, Calhoun continued to shine. The annual Trolley Night was wildly successful, the freshman provided an enthusiastic and united team at the Freshman Olympics,

and Calhoun competed strongly in intramurals. Students attended the Game in full Yale gear and celebrated Yale’s all-ivy football championship.

Changing of the Guard (Dean) At the end of the spring semester, Calhoun students bid a tearful farewell to Dean Steven Lassonde, who is now deputy dean of the college at Brown University. Upon arrival for fall semester, students eagerly welcomed new Dean, Leslie Woodard. Dean Woodard is the former director of undergraduate studies in the Columbia College Writing Program as well as a published writer. Students are excited to welcome such a dynamic presence in Calhoun.

Class of ’59 Lunch During the past year students jumped at the invitation to luncheon with the Class of ‘59 at the Yale Club of New York City. Calhoun greatly appreciates the efforts of Ben Gertz in coordinating this opportunity for Calhoun students. Already the fall semester has a waiting list of eager students.

Class of ‘59 Fund for Excellence: The Class of ‘59 Fund for Excellence continued to support Hounies in their summer and extracurricular pursuits. Recipients are grateful that the Class of ‘59 offers this support, without which they would have been unable to complete their projects. The Class of ‘59 started this fund to promote individual initiative, achievement, and excellence. A committee composed of the Class of ‘59 student liaison (Iliana Ongun ‘08) and Master Jonathan Holloway reviewed the applicants’ proposals and awarded funding to the projects with exemplary leadership and distinction. The following is a summary of the projects.

A. Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR) Amy Larsen ’10 spent her summer working at the CAWTAR, an NGO in Tunisia. CATWAR is a partner of UNIFEM, UNICEF, and the World Bank. With more than 250 regional members, its programs and initiatives have far-reaching effects. Amy first worked on a project of Arab Women and Entrepreneurship, creating web pages reflecting the past, current and future initiatives of the Arab women. She also wrote policy briefs and executive summaries as part of the center’s Arab Women and Local Governance project. Her final project involved investigating the topic of Women and the Public Space through a series of interviews conducted with Tunisians and visitors to the country. During her stay, Amy studied Arabic at the Courguiba Institute of Modern Languages. She is very grateful for the incredible first hand exposure to Middle East culture and people.

B. Logistics Chair of the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) Jeffrey Weng ’08, attended the ECAASU conference in February 2007. The conference included more 800 students with diverse backgrounds from more than 100 colleges and universities. The conference gathered Asian Americans to discuss topics ranging from interracial dating to Asian American representation in politics and the media. Jeffrey served as Logistics Chair and appreciates the support of the Class of ’59. He explains, “With the help of the Class of 1959, we were able to pull through and make this large complex conference the resounding success it was.”

C. Katrina Relief Urban Plunge Troy Jasso ’09 worked for Habitat for Humanity building homes in New Orleans “Musician’s Village”. In the span of one week his construction group was able to build the walls and foundation to three houses. During his time off of work, Jasso observed and reflected on the post-Katrina state of the city. He and his fellow workers discussed the subjects of race, power, privilege, and social justice; read stories from the Bible; listened to the speeches of Martin Luther King; and watched the documentary, When the Levees Broke.

D. MATHCOUNTS Outreach: A Yale Undergraduate Organization Brian Edwards ’08 worked with MATHCOUNTS, an outreach program run by Yale undergrads, brings mathematical training to middle school students. The MATHCOUNTS curriculum helps students solve creative math problems, achieve academically, and develop their potential in math. The Class of ‘59 Fund for Excellence enabled MATHCOUNTS to reach more middle-school students and devote additional resources to each participating school. Throughout the year, MATHCOUNTS Foundation donates and distributes books and educational materials to participating schools.

E. The Shift Undergraduate Magazine With a grant from the Class of ‘59’s Fund for Excellence, Caroline Savello ’09 and Anna Parks ’09 launched the Shift, a weekly magazine that provides a fresh and original take on campus news, culture and sports. The girls look forward to its continued success under new sophomore leadership.

F. Class of 1959 Association of Yale Alumni Community Service Fellowship Sponsored by the Class of 1959, Anna Parks ‘09 spent this past summer working at Bradley Hospital a children's psychiatric hospital, in Providence, RI. Her internship gave her the opportunity to work with children ages 0-7 afflicted with psychiatric illnesses. She thanks the Class of ‘59 for affording her a wonderful and varied experience that confirmed her decision to pursue medicine as her career.

G. Research Paper Presentation at the Hawaii International Conference for Social Sciences (HICSS) in Honolulu Isa Mirza’s ’08 paper on the growing concern over genetically-modified crop awarded him the invitation to present his research at the HICSS. While at the HICSS, Isa discussed his research with an audience of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, as well as professors in the social and political sciences. Isa reflects that the Class of ‘59 Fund for Excellence “serves a vital role for sustaining the scholarly quality of Yale's talented undergraduate community.”

THE ASSOCIATION OF YALE ALUMNI

AYA ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

A major overall goal of Yale is to inspire alumni to give time, talent and treasure. The job of the AYA in particular is to inspire alumni to give their time and talent to Yale; treasure is the goal of the Development Office. This follows the belief that you have to capture the head and the heart before you capture the pocketbook. That is, you must engage alumni intellectually and emotionally before philanthropically.

To fulfill the mission of engaging alumni, the AYA is a division of Yale, not independent. AYA sponsors and supports alumni programming and is entirely separate from development. AYA receives its funding from the Yale Corporation and does not raise money for itself or for the University. It has a budget of approximately $9 million that comes from central administration, a small endowment, credit card revenues, and travel revenues.

The AYA is both an organization of Yale alumni and for Yale alumni. The AYA fosters lifelong connections to Yale, both to serve graduates and to enable them to be effective contributors and ambassadors for Yale. AYA serves 75,000 Yale College alumni and 55,000 Graduate and Professional School alumni. . There are two major structures that together comprise the organization. The first is a representative assembly of approximately 375 alumni “delegates” representing Yale alumni and their organizations. There are:

 2 delegates from each of approximately 75 Yale classes  1 to 3 delegates from 160 Yale clubs (domestic and international)  50 “at large” delegates typically representing “SIGs.” Currently, there are 6 Shared Identity Groups - Black, Asian, Latino, LGBT, Native American, Women; and about 100 Shared Interest Groups based on student affiliated groups - Glee Club, Football, Debate Team, Drama, and growing….; and ~4 vocational groups: Real Estate, Finance, Energy, Engineering, and growing…

From the Assembly, the delegates elect a Board of Governors of twenty one – seven elected each year for a three year term. The Board of Governors has four officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.

The Board of Governors serves as an advisory group to the Yale Corporation and the President, representing the needs and expectations of the alumni within the University.

The second major structure of the AYA is the management and staff of the organization paid by Yale. The AYA has a staff of approximately 50 which is almost 1 for every 2,000 alumni. It is worth noting that there are approximately 250 development/fundraising staff or about 1 for every 500 alumni which is among highest of all US universities.

The AYA staff is primarily organized by the type of alumni organization that they work with:

 10 staff members work with Classes  12 staff members work with Clubs  3 staff members work with Shared Interest Groups:  9 staff members work in Information Technology:  7 Administration:  5 staff members work in Travel and Education:

 15 staff members work with alumni of the Graduate and Professional Schools:

Different staff members bring specific skills or experience to their roles:

 7 staff members are alumni of Yale  3 staff members have a background in Development  10 staff members have an event management background  15 staff members have a background in University administration  5 staff members have a background in Nonprofit/Volunteer

Through various initiatives and programs, the AYA maintains close ties with many other offices at Yale. The three most direct and frequent connections are with the Career Advisory Department as AYA volunteers provide fellowship and summer internships for over 1,000 students, the Development Office with which the AYA jointly produces reunions, and the Admissions Office as nearly all Yale Clubs have Alumni Schools Committees (volunteers who interview over 20,000 applicants to Yale every year).

The top management position at the AYA is Executive Director, which reports to the AYA Board of Governors and the Secretary/Vice President of the University. The Executive Director also has direct communication with the President of the University.

The Executive Director is selected by a Board Committee, which makes a recommendation to the President, and is then appointed by the President (similar to the process for Deans.)

AYA STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS

In 2007, the AYA, with approval of the Yale Corporation, adopted a new strategic plan to reflect the changing nature of alumni relations. There are now four key goals for the AYA, each with specific initiatives to be implemented. The plan calls for the AYA:

1. To expand educational opportunities by (1) enhancing existing programs, (2) creating new ones, and (3) increasing use of new media. Examples: • Service tours (community outreach) • Online courses; iTunes • Family programming • Conferences and reunions 2. To provide an increasing array of services that support alumni. Examples: • Career networks and mentoring • Credit card • Travel programs • Library, gym services 3. To enable the best of Yale to be the best for Yale, we will create the right structures and tools for the right alumni for the right projects. Examples: • Expansion (50%) of AYA support staff • Support shared identity and interest groups • Greater support for alumni in 6 major cities • Collaboration with graduate and professional schools 4. To provide volunteers with leadership training and the proper tools to strengthen the organization. • Web: Websites; blast emails, social networking, event management • Volunteer leadership training conferences • GALE: Global Alumni Leadership Exchange • Enhanced communication and marketing

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

Ultimately, Yale and the AYA agree that it is important to help the alumni give back to the University not only for the sake of the University but also for the personal fulfillment of the alumni. The AYA has specific programs to engage alumni intellectually and emotionally.

How do we inspire the alumni intellectually?

 Online Courses – in a broad array of subjects, each course is 24 lectures delivered by the best of Yale faculty. And is available for free through iTunes.  Lectures by Yale faculty – over 300 per year at regional clubs and at reunions and special conferences.  Travel Programs – nearly 1,300 alumni travel abroad each year with the Educational Travel program.  Over 4,000 alumni serve on leadership boards, advisory groups, or other governing bodies at Yale (not including development).  Bulldogs Program: alumni organize over 1,000 summer jobs for Yale students.

How do we inspire emotionally?

 Class Reunions – lifelong relationships bringing back 6,500 alumni and friends every year.  Shared Interest Groups – connecting alumni with their interests and passions.  Yale Day of Service – alumni everywhere around the world dedicating one day for service in their local communities.  Yale Service Tours – special travel programs to help in poor or underserved communities, last year over 100 alumni went to the Dominican Republic for medical clinics, tutoring children and building houses.  Community Service Fellowships – Yale Clubs provide summer fellowships for Yale students to perform community service.  Global Alumni Leadership Exchange – alumni sharing their gifts of alumni organizing with international universities. (Japan in 2009!)  Alumni Schools Committees – volunteers interview over 20,000 applicants to Yale every year.

MEASURING RESULTS…. The AYA strives to expand and improve its programs and be more effective in achieving its goals of engaging the alumni and benefiting the University. Yale and the AYA measure the success of these efforts in four ways:

 Depth: Number of alumni engaged in class, club, SIG and other recorded activities.  Breadth: Number and type of program offerings – reunions, conferences, et al.  Satisfaction: Alumni satisfaction surveys sent for all activities.  Strategic plans: Tracking the progress in implementing strategic plans that have been created for all major city clubs and SIGs.

The MIT Giving/Engagement Study of 2002 concluded that graduates engaged in alumni association activities demonstrated: 1) greater participation in giving and 2) were more consistent in their giving and 3) were far more likely to give larger gifts.

The study showed that alumni who attended reunions were 30% more likely to give to the Alumni Fund; those who volunteered in some capacity were 20% more likely to give; and

club members were 13% more likely to give. Furthermore, “Involved” alumni were 1.4 to 2.1 times more likely to give four or more years out of every five and were two to six times more likely to make cumulative gifts of $2,500 or more over five years, with even stronger correlations at $25,000 and greater levels.

Alumni want to give…but you have to connect intellectually and (perhaps most importantly) emotionally. “For God, for Country, and for Yale!”

AYA: A PERSONAL HISTORY Ruth L. Benedict ‘48MN

For the past 37 years the Association of Yale Alumni has provided a lively and successful two way communication between the University and its Alumni, organizing reunions, developing volunteer opportunities, encouraging the participation of all alumni. Today, many people do not remember that the AYA was created at a time of extreme national turmoil over the Vietnam War and the draft. Many alumni blamed the college upheavals on students and faculty. Yale’s President was determined to bridge this widening gap by creating a new Alumni Association to open ongoing communication.

At this time of tension President and Mrs. Brewster and many faculty members made it a regular practice to eat in the student dining halls and be available to address the concerns of students. At the same time, some Alumni were critical of Yale’s policies on admissions and athletics so a study Commission was formed by President Brewster to make recommendations to address these issues.

In 1970 Yale’s alumni were organized by classes, regional clubs and alumni associations in the twelve Graduate and Professional schools. There was only one overall alumni organization, the Alumni Board, which was rather moribund and dominated by a few older graduates who clung to indefinite terms. Realizing that a new approach to alumni relations was necessary, President Brewster created the Founding Board of the AYA to deliberate and recommend a solution. There were to be 24 members: The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the University Council, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Alumni Fund, the Class Officers Committee, the Development Board, etc.

Although Yale had admitted women for many years in the Graduate & Professional Schools (G&P), undergraduate Yale College had been a male bastion for 270 years. At this time, President Brewster and the Corporation had decided that Yale should become co-educational. The first co-educational class of undergraduates started in the fall of 1969. That may have been one of the reasons I was asked to serve on the Founding Board. The other twenty three members all represented the undergraduate Yale College Alumni. I was the only woman and the only representative of the G&P Schools, which accounted for 50% of the University’s alumni. I was a 1948 graduate of the Yale School of Nursing, and had been active in Alumnae affairs and in fund raising for the school. I was happy to serve on the Founding Board of the AYA, which involved great amounts of time and effort, because I felt it was urgent to do everything possible to strengthen independent educational institutions in the face of the questionable policies of the Nixon Administration.

The first meeting of the Founding Board was held in New Haven in January, 1972. We divided up into various committees and I was assigned to the Accreditation and Election Committee, to devise a plan for the structure of the AYA and to create incentives for active participation. It was suggested that the United States be divided into 12 geographical areas with an alumni organization to be started in each area. Since we already had classes and regional clubs and Graduate and Professional school organizations, I suggested that we not reinvent the wheel and base the AYA on participation from those existing groups. Further I

suggested it be organized as a representative Assembly so that each member would be responsible for reporting to and from his or her constituency. Committee members agreed at once and I was asked to draft the details of a plan for how the members of the Assembly would be chosen. We agreed that one third of the Assembly should change each year to encourage wide participation and avoid the stagnation that had plagued the old Alumni Board.

I was then asked to Chair the first Nominating Committee and two of us worked for months to identify and nominate a Chairman and Vice Chairman plus members of the first AYA Board of Governors who would reflect the diversity of Yale Alumni. A Call for Elections was sent to all alumni in May, 1972. Alumni responded with enthusiasm and those nominated to serve on the first Board of Governors were elected by the members of the first Assembly held that fall. A crisis was averted when the first AYA Chairman proposed to exclude the members of Lux et Veritas from the AYA, as he perceived them to be a dissident group, elitist and prejudiced. He was finally persuaded that, like them or not, they were Yale Alumni and inclusiveness was essential to the new organization. Obviously, this made it unlikely that a dissident group would compete with the AYA.

The structure of the AYA was intended to be a beginning, to be modified as time went on. New opportunities to engage alumni have been explored by each group of leaders. The AYA has encouraged special interest groups to gather and has engaged alumni in community service, through attendance at reunions and in many other ways. Assemblies held each spring and fall have explored subjects of interest and importance to the University and expanded understanding on both sides. Continued financial support of the University by its alumni has been a welcome by-product of the closer and warmer relationship provided by the AYA.

When the work of the Founding Board was done, I served on the AYA Board of Governors for five years. For thirteen years I was Assistant Chairman of the Yale Alumni Fund for the Graduate and Professional Schools, except Law. I convinced the Deans of the importance of their involvement in the annual Fund and arranged to hire competent staff support which had never before been available to the G & P Schools.

During the energy crisis of the late 70s I was asked by President Giamatti to become Yale’s first Director of Energy Conservation. Today I continue to serve on the External Advisory Board of the Yale School of Nursing and on the Yale Tomorrow Capital Campaign Committee. I have been awarded the Yale Medal and the Yale School of Nursing Medal.

AYA ASSEMBLIES

The AYA’s Assemblies lie at the heart of its mission to develop alumni leaders, to communicate with alumni about critical aspects of the University and to provide alumni with a way to voice their views to Yale’s administration and faculty. Each fall, over 300 alumni delegates are invited to New Haven to represent their constituencies: Yale Clubs and Associations, Yale College Classes and Yale's Graduate & Professional Schools. Each annual Assembly has a central focus, a theme reflecting a current topic of interest and concern to alumni and the rest of the university community.

Assemblies offer delegates the opportunity to:

 Inquire and learn about issues facing the University through panels and discussions  Attend sessions for clubs, classes, and graduate and professional schools that present new ideas to incorporate into their constituency's programs  Re-discover the excellence of the Yale faculty through educational programming  Meet with other club, class and graduate and professional school leaders  Meet with students, faculty, other alumni and University administrators in informal settings  Discover a new facet of Yale as a living, evolving institution.

AYA Assemblies Barbara Wagner ‘73

In 1996, I was asked to attend an AYA assembly as an alternate for our local club’s AYA delegate, who was unable to attend. I did not know much about the AYA at the time, and knew even less about the assemblies, which at that time were held twice a year in New Haven, Connecticut. However, I agreed to attend and signed up. As I recall, assemblies involved 2 ½ days of programming in New Haven – Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. In the fall, the weekend ended with a football game; in the spring some other Saturday activity may have been offered.

I ended up becoming a replacement for the delegate and, then became a delegate in my own right for a full term, and attended several assemblies. The basic programming for assemblies is to address a topic, such as athletics at Yale, admissions, internationalization of Yale, Yale and the environment, Yale graduate schools, student life at Yale, the arts at Yale. Over the three days of the assembly there are several programming sessions on the topic, ranging from large plenary groups to small group discussions or demonstrations. At the same time, since delegates represent classes, Yale clubs and other “at large” constituencies, programming is also included about how to increase class or club activity, leadership training, meetings for Alumni Schools Committee representatives with the Dean of Admissions and Director of Financial Aid and other relevant topics. And finally, the programming is intended to update delegates on the most recent initiatives of Yale, usually involving a presentation by the president of the university. Currently, delegates are frequently officers of Yale clubs, classes and other alumni groups.

When I attended my first assembly, I had some trepidation since I didn’t know any other delegates, but I relished returning to some of the same classrooms for the assembly presentations where I had attended class many years before. Often I would walk into a room

and simply start talking to whoever was sitting next to me. “Where are you from?” “What constituency do you represent?” By the end of the presentation, the conversation turned to “Boy, what a change since I was a student here!” or “Have you ever tried to do a similar program at your local Yale Club?”

By the end of my first assembly, I had met dozens of different alumni, from different geographic areas, different classes and with very different Yale experiences. I particularly enjoyed going to meals in a dining hall and selecting a table of strangers to sit with and comparing notes about their activities as alumni, their lives as Yale students and whatever their lives were like in their current communities. I remember one assembly sitting and talking to a woman who finally turned to me and asked if I knew a certain person, who was my sister. Apparently she knew my sister well, and said my voice and mannerisms were so similar that she blurted out that question.

I always returned from assemblies invigorated about Yale, full of ideas for local Yale alumni activities and eager to return again. As the reader may know, Yale’s alumni office (AYA) and fundraising activities (Development Office) are well separated, and I was very happy that I could participate and feel appreciated and active even though I was not in a position to contribute much money to Yale. Participation in assemblies reinforced the idea that I belong to a much larger community of alumni than just my class or my local club. Attending several assemblies gave me the opportunity to get to know several alumni – including some classmates I had never known at Yale. But the thing I found most amusing, after I had attended several AYA assemblies, was when a colleague at work felt compelled to ask me why I was going to New Haven for 3 days twice a year. “What do they do? Sit you in a room for three days and ask you for money?” I can only assume that her college did not have the same level of alumni outreach as Yale.

ASSOCIATION OF YALE ALUMNI BOARD OF GOVERNORS Susie Krentz, ‘80

The mission of the AYA was recently updated by its Board of Governors.

The AYA fosters lifelong connections to Yale, both to serve our graduates and to enable them to be effective contributors and ambassadors for Yale. AYA Strategic Plan, Adopted 4/2007

The AYA represents all the alumni of Yale – both undergraduate and graduate students. AYA activities are carried out by alumni volunteers through regional clubs/associations, class activities, graduate and professional school activities, and shared interest and identity groups. There is also a full time staff, including an executive director, located in New Haven that provides support for these activities in varying degrees.

The AYA’s Board of Governors (BOG) is the governing/oversight body for the AYA. While the AYA is embedded within the University structure (i.e., it is not independent of the University), the BOG is responsible for oversight and direction of the AYA. There are 21 members of the BOG (seven individuals each year are elected for a 3-year term), plus four officers, and eight ex officio members.

The BOG conducts most of its work through Board committees. The committees have included:

Alumni Fellow The Yale Corporation, which is the body that oversees the Nominating Committee governance of the University, includes individuals elected directly by the alumni. This committee develops the slate of nominees for the alumni vote. Alumni Education and This committee oversees educational and service outreach for Outreach alumni. This includes alumni travel trips with Yale faculty, Yale Service Corps trips, Alumni exchange programs, working with the University to advance online/electronic educational programs, and family camps (under development). Assembly and To ensure robust communication and awareness of University Leadership Training activities, there is an assembly of “delegates” in New Haven each fall. There are delegates for every regional club/association, Yale College classes, Graduate & Professional schools, and at-large. This committee selects the topic for each Assembly and oversees the program development. Alumni leadership development is also overseen by this committee, including a recently developed “leadership institute” which is a multi-day training program held on-campus for alumni volunteer leaders. Alumni Benefits and The ABS committee identifies and evaluates various benefits or Services services that would be of value to Yale’s alumni. This includes the Yale VISA card. Constitution The constitution committee is responsible for interpreting the constitution and bylaws which govern the AYA and the BOG. This committee also recommends changes to the constitution. Changes to the constitution are voted on by the delegates at the annual Assembly and must also be approved by the Yale Corporation. Bylaws can by changed by the BOG. Club The club committee oversees issues related to the regional clubs, and provides feedback and direction to AYA staff regarding activities and priorities.

Class The class committee oversees issues related to the Yale College classes, and provides feedback and direction to AYA staff regarding activities and priorities. A major AYA supported activity for classes is the 5-year on-campus reunions. Graduate & The G&P committee oversees issues related to the Graduate and Professional Schools Professional Schools (of which there are 13), and provides feedback and direction to AYA staff regarding activities and priorities. AYA staff directly support the alumni activities of the Graduate School, while working collaboratively with the alumni offices of the various professional schools. Shared Interest This committee oversees issues related to recognition and Groups development of shared interest and identity groups. This committee develops the slate of at-large delegate nominations for approval by the BOG. Yale Medal Each year up to five individuals are eligible to receive Yale’s highest honor for alumni, The Yale Medal. This committee selects the medal recipients.

Like many truly important things in life, I didn’t have a grand plan to become involved in the AYA leadership structure. The credit must be given to my husband, also a Yale alumnus. He nominated me to become an at-large delegate to the AYA. After a three-year term as a delegate, I was elected to the Board of Governors for a three year term. I was then fortunate to serve as secretary, treasurer, vice-chair, chair, and I will now serve as the immediate past chair for the next two years.

As a member of the BOG, I attended Board and committee meetings and the annual assembly. The Board generally meets in person four times in New Haven for committee and Board meetings. There is also a retreat each summer, which may include all Board and staff, or Board officers, committee chairs, and senior staff (participation determined by the Chair based on issues to be discussed.)

As the Chair of the BOG, in addition to the normally expected duties of setting Board meeting agendas, assigning committees, and running the Board meetings, the Chair serves ex officio on the University Council (an alumni advisory body to the President of the University that meets with him for a day two times a year); the Corporation Subcommittee on Alumni Affairs & Development; the board of the Yale Alumni Magazine (which is an independent organization from the AYA and the University); and the Yale Alumni Fund.

While requiring a significant time commitment, I served on the AYA’s BOG because I have an incredible fondness for Yale. My experience at Yale was fantastic: in part because of the intellectual treasure (faculty, resources, etc), but also because of the larger community of students. Yale had a tremendous impact on my personal development and my professional life. Service on the AYA BOG was a way to give back my time and talents to help build the strength of the alumni body in its service to Yale, and in Yale’s service to its alumni.

Participating in the AYA BOG has also allowed me to form a new set of Yale friendships.

The BOG, as the leadership of the AYA, is a crucial link between the alumni body at large, and the administration of the University. BOG members interact on a regular basis with senior administrator of the University to provide input and feedback on issues. The AYA, through its annual Assembly, provides a window to the University for a representative cross-section of the alumni body. The AYA’s strategic plan adopted in 2007 is titled: Ambassadors for Yale. The BOG is instrumental in ensuring that Yale’s alumni are connected with each other and with the University. An engaged alumni body provides the foundation for support for Yale.

There are some fundamental ways in which the AYA has stayed consistent since its founding in 1972. The organization continues to serve all alumni of Yale. Regional clubs/associations, Yale College classes, and Graduate & Professional schools continue to be key forms of engagement and the basis for delegate representation. However, over the years the AYA has also adapted its activities and focus to find ways to better serve Yale and its alumni. In 2007, the AYA approved its first five-year strategic plan. This new plan builds upon the existing strengths of the organization but also advances the AYA’s activities in some new areas:

. Connecting/developing with shared interest and identity groups which form the basis for engagement and community for many alumni . Finding ways to connect with younger Yale alumni and those with families . Enhancing the variety and range of educational activities for alumni . Improving the effectiveness of the regional clubs/association in the seven metro areas where some 42 percent of Yale’s alumni reside . Enhancing the ability of volunteer leaders to be effective in their efforts through new initiatives

The AYA strategic plan is structured around four goals, with numerous strategies for each goal.

Alumni Education To expand educational opportunities by (1) enhancing existing programs, (2) creating new ones, and (3) increasing use of new media

Alumni Services To provide an increasing array of services that support alumni

Structures & Tools To enable the best of Yale to be the best for Yale, we will create the right structures and tools for the right alumni for the right projects

Volunteer Success To create the right structures at the AYA and the tools and training for volunteers to achieve the goals of the plan

One year of the implementation of the strategic plan has resulted in the innovation in our educational offerings, our focus on enhancing key alumni groups, and a pilot of a leadership institute for our volunteer leaders and the first global alumni leadership exchange program.

The biggest challenges faced by the AYA BOG include the continued focus, energy, and advocacy for the ambitious plans we have laid out. To achieve the success for the AYA that is envisioned, the BOG needs to have thoughtful, creative, and dedicated volunteers as Board members. We need to make sure that the AYA employed staff is not stretched too thin. The President, officers, and the Corporation of the University have been tremendously supportive of our strategic plan which included a significant commitment to an increased budget, expanded number of staff, and the commitment of additional physical space. We will continue to need the support of the University to achieve our vision.

We like to think the possibilities for the AYA are endless, and it is just a matter of our volunteer time and talent to continue to explore how the AYA can enrich the lives of Yale’s alumni and how our alumni can be ambassadors for Yale.

AYA BOARD OF GOVERNORS Ellen Gibson McGinnis, ‘82

I became a volunteer with the AYA because someone called and asked me to. It was the early 1990’s, and although I had been the Treasurer of my Yale class since 1987 (and would end up serving two terms in that role, until 1997), I was not otherwise involved in Yale activities, other than keeping in touch with classmates and returning to New Haven for the Yale – Harvard football game.

That changed one day when a friend, who had been a few years ahead of me at Yale, called to ask me to serve as an officer of the Yale Club of Dallas, where I then lived. It’s hard to say no to a friend, and it sounded like fun, so I signed up, and spent the next year as the VP of Programs, scrambling to line up speakers for the Club’s monthly lunches! My coup was recruiting Frank Shorter, the Olympic runner, to speak to the club – a full house. I met alumni of all ages and made friends I would see time and time again over the following years in New Haven at AYA Assemblies. I served in several roles in the Club, including as a substitute, and later “actual” AYA delegate. When I moved from Dallas in the summer 1995, I had already made contacts, at an AYA Assembly, with alumni from the Baltimore area, to where I was moving. There I got involved with the local club, and continued as an AYA delegate – first as an alternate, and then as the club delegate. At one point, now a distant memory, someone proposed me as a potential member of the Board of Governors, but I was not selected by the nominating committee!

What kept me traveling back to New Haven was the connection with Yale and Yalies. Ever since graduation, I have returned home from visits with classmates or AYA Assemblies energized by the fascinating conversations, enthusiasm for both things Yale and issues out in the world, and the intellectual stimulation of interacting with Yale alumni, faculty, and students. Connections were everywhere – I re-connected with a neighbor from my home town, Class of 1937, whose wife had been my English teacher in 5th grade, and who reconnected me with his classmate from the Yale Club of Dallas, whom I knew from my time there. I spent a lot of time with the Class of 1937 at Assembly meals – those who follow these things know that they were alumni leaders (dissidents?) in their own right, and it was fascinating to learn about Yale in the 30’s and to get their perspective on Yale, and the world, today.

In 2004, after serving on the AYA Board of Governors for three years (second time’s a charm), I was asked to run for an officer position. By this time, I had two young children and a husband at home, a very busy legal career, and I had to think hard about making what would potentially be an eight-year commitment, with increasing responsibility, to work as an officer of the Board and travel to New Haven more and more frequently. I thought long and hard about it, and consulted with the then-Chair and past-Chair, but I think I knew, in my heart of hearts, that it was an opportunity I could not turn down, and the “high” I always get from my Yale experiences was too strong an incentive to resist.

So it came to pass, I’m now the Chair of the AYA Board of Governors, after 3 years as a delegate, and 4 years in other officer positions. It is an amazing time to be involved with this organization. With the leadership of our Immediate Past-Chair, Susie Krentz, ’80, and our Executive Director, Mark Dollhopf, ’77, and the hard work of the entire Board and staff, we developed and got approved a strategic plan for the AYA, with significant additional funding from the University. We’ve already implemented outreach to alumni in a myriad of new ways, and had successes with our service trip to the Dominican Republic, formation of new interest groups, involvement of past Board members, and lots more. The ANU – Yale Alumni Exchange will be a prototype for future trips of its kind, and we’re exploring increased opportunities for alumni education, a family camp, intellectual retreats, and many other ways

to involve alumni to connect, re-connect, go out into the world as Yalies to make a difference, in their own lives and in the lives of those they touch. That’s the essence of being Ambassadors for Yale.

GRADUATE SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Julia Downs Associate Director for Graduate School Alumni Relations

Graduate students at Yale, and alumni of the Graduate School, have historically felt set apart from the rest of the University. Tucked away in their departments conducting research, they tell us they felt little allegiance to the administrative entity known as the Graduate School. Ten years ago, however, a gift from an alumnus of Yale College allowed the Graduate School to renovate a beautiful common room in the Hall of Graduate Schools, furnish it with a café and comfortable sofas, and create a center for social life and a variety of valuable student services. At the same time, the University made a greater investment in alumni relations for the Graduate School and, at the request of the Dean, transferred that function to the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA). Soon, students felt less isolated and more connected to their Graduate School peers in other departments, and alumni began to notice that they were receiving more news and invitations from their departments and the School as a whole.

This change of affairs has resulted in greater enthusiasm for volunteering among alumni. Ten years ago, the volunteer board (officially, the Executive Committee of the Graduate School Alumni Association) had essentially one function, to help select and celebrate winners of the school’s highest honor for distinguished achievement, the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal (named for an illustrious former dean). There was little turnover in members. Today, the same board has been revitalized and reconfigured. Scores of volunteers, of all ages and from all fields, seek to serve terms on the GSAA Executive Committee. Those who serve reliably attend meetings on campus twice a year, some traveling from great distances. At least one or two run for election to the AYA Board of Governors each year; two are current AYA board members.

The evolution I describe represents a deepening integration of the Graduate School and its alumni into a University community once dominated by undergraduates and alumni of Yale College. At this moment, the GSAA Executive Committee is planning a two-day retreat in New Haven in September, at which they will work hard on a project they envisioned: to plan and host a multi-disciplinary conference for alumni of all departments of the Graduate School in the Spring of 2010. They will also strategize about ways to draw Graduate School alumni into the exciting new projects underway at the AYA. One might be this: encourage members of the GSAA to participate in the next international Alumni Leadership Exchange.

AYA COMMUNITY SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS

The Yale Alumni Community Service Fellowship was founded in 1989 by a group of Yale alumni who, in response to student interest, piloted a new internship program providing a paid, eight week service opportunity to Yale students interested in community service work. The program benefits the local community by providing a summer intern at no cost to the community service organization and it introduces the student to both the service work and the local community.

The first summer 13 students were sent to community service organizations in nine different cities hosted by nine different Yale Clubs across the USA, all generously sponsored by Fred Rose ’44E. Over the years the program has grown, offering 30 to 40 internships each summer, all fully sponsored by Yale alumni. The fellows are provided with an eight week position at a researched community service organization, housing (usually with a Yale family) and a stipend, currently at $2,800 for eight weeks of service, to meet any and all financial aid requirements.

The program continues to grow to meet the needs of current Yale students and alumni, many clubs now sponsor more than one student each summer and new sites are added annually to keep up with current student interests, the needs of the community and alumni generosity in sponsoring and organizing the fellowships.

When the students return from the summer, they are asked to give a report on the experience. Here are some examples of recent experiences.

Kezia Kamenetz ‘09 Point Breeze Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA

Daily life at Point Breeze Performing Arts Center was very consistent. My job was working at the Arts Summer Camp program, where I was the lead counselor for the 7-9 year olds and also taught creative writing classes to all the age groups two days a week. One day a week the camp would go on a field trip, where I would chaperone for the day. As a lead counselor, on days when I wasn’t teaching, I would oversee the movement of my group from class to class, as well as sit in on their classes. As a creative writing teacher two days a week, I had each group (5-7 year olds, 7-9 year olds, and 10-12 year olds) for one hour. In the class, we would normally read one or two poems I had chosen and then write poems in the style of the one we had read. The site director of the camp was Nia Eubanks, who supervised the entire camp each day. I lived with the director of the AYA program Philadelphia chapter, Jackie Buhn, whose warm home provided a great place to relax after the camp was over each day.

As soon as I began work, I knew that I had been particularly lucky in my placement, since my experience with teaching and being a counselor to kids as well as my interest in creative writing were being put to use every day. That being said, there was definitely a bit of luck to the process, since before I came to the placement I didn’t know I would be teaching, nor did I state my creative interests very clearly in the original application, as I remember. Of course, getting precise job descriptions from sites and full knowledge of all the interests of every applicant would be very difficult to attain, and I know the program does its best to match people with their interests and keep them flexible at arrival time. Perhaps something that would ease such success stories as mine would be some sort of form that participants fill out after their placement that describes what they see as the perfect candidate for their job in the following year.

Of course, that wasn’t possible with my placement this year, since it was the first year the Philadelphia club had sponsored Point Breeze. For a program that gives volunteer direct

contact with kids and teaching experience, I couldn’t have imagined a site with better opportunities. Although my creative writing skills did come in handy, a participant with musical or dancing talents may have had an even greater impact, since the camp focuses on those arts. My role was clear from the beginning, and my on-site supervisor, Nia Eubanks, was an incredible guide and teacher throughout my summer at Point Breeze. The entire staff at the center was welcoming and friendly, and the site really gives one the ability to experience and know the community of South Philadelphia/Point Breeze. I hope this site continues to host Yalies in the future, because I think it is a place where people can really display their own skills and talents as well as gain valuable experience.

The club coordinator, who happened to also be my host, Jackie Buhn, is a wonderful force of energy and vitality in her community. She and her family provide the summer fellow with a real taste of Philadelphia life as well as a glimpse into the problems and solutions the community is working towards. Always a gracious and accommodating host, Ms. Buhn’s dedication to this program shines through the entire summer, and well into the school year.

As should be clear by now, I had an amazing summer at Point Breeze. So many of my assumptions and stereotypes of what it would mean to teach creative writing to ‘inner-city’ children were flipped on their head or simply smashed by my experiences with these amazing kids. Life in the poor areas of urban America has been dramatized by television and movies, it’s hard not to have certain expectations when one enters into the community. I was sure that being the only white person at my job site would, at least at the beginning, be something of an issue, especially with the older children. Instead, issues of race hardly came to play into the equation, and the community welcomed me with open arms.

That being said, my job was not easy. Starting day one, I had a crash course in classroom discipline. I had never had to teach so many children at once, or any children over the age of 8. My struggles to maintain control of my classroom, especially with the oldest group, pushed me to the brink of frustration nearly every week. I learned so much from my supervisor and fellow group leaders in these situations though. Their experience with disciplining children gave me strategies that gradually began to work. And now, I am endowed with the confidence that if I entered a classroom today, I could develop a discipline strategy that works.

My salvation was the writing the children produced. Even though the oldest group drove me crazy, their poetry was over and again sensitive and fascinating. All of the children at the camp were incredibly talented dancers, but their written work turned out to be equally stimulating.

Further, creating my own lesson plans was a really exciting journey. The theme of the camp was different periods in 20th century African American history, so I tried to find poems from African American poets of each decade. It was a personal education as well as one for the kids, and one I will always remember.

I learned so much from working at this center. I have always thought that arts were an essential part of community recovery, but to see such a shining example of this was really invigorating for me, especially since I want to continue doing repair work in the New Orleans area and I think a community center like Point Breeze would thrive in the New Orleans area.

Samuel Norman-Haignere ‘10 Partnerships for Parks

I stayed at the Yale Club of New York City for 8 weeks from June 9 to August 3. Meera Shankar ’05 who worked in the Membership office at the Club was the primary coordinator and she was very welcoming and helpful. Every morning I received a complimentary breakfast, and I was able to use the Yale Club’s many facilities such as the gym, library, and lounge. I also attended a reception with the president and vice-president of the club. I roomed with Spencer Sherman who I liked a lot and got along with well. During the evening I often attended concerts and outdoor festivals, and about every other weekend I visited home.

I worked for the Technical Assistance branch of Partnerships for Parks, which is a half government, half non-profit organization that houses four different programs all working towards the goal of helping volunteers become more involved with their parks. The four branches are Outreach, Catalyst, Volunteer, and Technical Assistance. In the past, I believe fellows have been placed in the Outreach Program which responds directly to the needs of park volunteers and works heavily on their semi-annual “It’s My Park Day!” where volunteers come out to help celebrate and improve their local park. Technical Assistance meanwhile tends to focus more on grants, special projects, and making Partnerships for Parks more sustainable and innovative. The Technical Assistance office is located downtown on Chambers Street and I worked closely with Channaly Oum and the program director of Technical Assistance, Hillary Angelo.

My work with Partnerships for Parks focused on helping to figure out the best way to engage volunteers who work with street trees in the city. In general, there has been increased interest in street trees over the past 10 years. For example, Central Forestry, the agency responsible for tree plantings, just finished counting all 590,000 street trees in the city and did so with help of about a 1000 volunteers. Furthermore, as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s “plan for a greener New York”, the Forestry Department’s budget has been tripled in order to implement the mayor’s “million trees initiative”. Partnerships for Parks was therefore interested in figuring out the best way to engage already active volunteers in a some kind of city-wide program that would help care for trees. In order to help figure out the best way to do this, I designed and analyzed a survey of street tree volunteers. I created an electronic survey, which was sent to about 2000 people, and also spent time talking and meeting with highly active volunteers throughout the city. At the end of the 8 weeks I gave a presentation of my findings to Central Forestry and worked with Hillary and Channaly to create a plan for Partnerships for Parks’ continued involvement.

In general, my daily activity involved designing and analyzing the survey, sending e-mails, discussing different ideas with coworkers, and meeting with volunteers. I spent a great deal of time using excel to analyze the data I got back from the survey which allowed me to give quantitative measures to different volunteer tendencies and interests. I attended meetings with a variety of different city agencies working to foster stewardship. For example, there was an organization trying to create a Stewardship Map for the entire city that would help outreach organizations better coordinate their activities and work together. Throughout the summer I also spent time working on miscellaneous projects. For example, Channaly organized a tour with Greenstreets, the organization responsible for installing small mini-gardens called greenstreets, and I constructed a miniature model of a greenstreet in order to demonstrate the different soil layers and techniques that go into their construction.

My experiences were therefore quite varied and on the whole gave me a full picture of the city. My job allowed me to meet different people while learning about the structure of city government.

The fellowship program was wonderful and in general I have nothing but positive things to say about the experience. The application and selection process was smooth and easy. I received the placement I had hoped for and everyone was very accommodating. I thought the

initial description of my job on the CSSF website was a bit vague so I was hesitant at first about what I would actually be doing at Partnerships for Parks. However, my job turned out to be very interesting and in the end I felt I made a difference and learned a great deal from the experience. I was given a lot of freedom to structure my activities and projects, and my coworkers were always ready to discuss any issues or concerns. My time at the Yale Club was enjoyable and I was able to spend my evenings attending concerts throughout the city. In general, the process seemed flawless and certainly exceeded my expectations.

The entire experience of living and working in the city was wonderful and very new to me. It was also great to be close to home, while still living and working independently in the city.

During the summer in New York, there are an incredible number of outdoor concerts and cultural events. As a result, I saw a very wide range of performers and artists throughout the city. For example, “Celebrate Brooklyn!” put on a series of excellent outdoor concerts where you could hear folk, bluegrass, jazz, and rock at the bandstand in Prospect Park.

Living at the Yale Club was excellent. My room was very nice, the facilities were great, and I enjoyed getting to know my roommate. The food was excellent and the view from the top of the club was something I looked forward to every morning. The Yale Club’s location in mid- Manhattan and across from Grand Central station allowed me to get to all the boroughs relatively quickly and made commuting to work quick and easy. The Yale Club was a great place to live and ideally located.

I liked my job and although I was often tired after a full days work I liked the fact that I could always leave my work at the office. In fact, compared to my previous semester at Yale, I felt that I had a great deal of free time to both explore the city and visit home. The people in my office were a very tight-knit group who helped each other with their work, ate meals together, and shared stories about their personal lives. They were all good friends and I immediately felt welcome. The work I did for them allowed me to experiment with different ideas and I felt that in the end people appreciated the work I did.

Therefore on the whole, I felt my experience was very complete. My job alone allowed me to meet a host of different people throughout the city, and in addition I was also able to explore the city through outdoor festivals and concerts. The people I worked and lived with were very welcoming and my job was interesting. The fellowship was a wonderful way to spend the summer.

Vicki Chan ‘08 Every Child Succeeds

Every Child Succeeds (ECS) is a home visitation program housed at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and is sponsored by partnering agencies United Way and Community Action Agency of Cincinnati. ECS has eighteen partner agencies who manage 105 trained nurses and paraprofessionals (called home visitors or family support workers) who conduct home visits. Home visits are meant to assist underserved first time mothers in effective parenting and child safety. ECS has a complex organizational structure and needless to say, I had a lot to absorb about the agency and its operations. In my first week, I was allotted time on each staff person’s calendar to meet and discuss ECS and the nature of the staff person’s responsibilities. Through Every Child Succeeds literature and the various meetings with staff at the central office, I began to understand the program’s intricate goals, measures, and philosophy. Also, during this introductory period, I shadowed home visits and met family support workers from various agencies. After familiarizing myself with ECS and its sophisticated outcome measures, I was assigned three major projects.

The first project involved assisting ECS staff on a recent initiative called the Avondale Project. This initiative targets an especially underserved population and its goal is to enroll all mothers in need in the Avondale community. I attended and assisted with Avondale partnership meetings, Avondale Mom’s Group meetings, and the newsletter designed for Avondale mothers enrolled in the ECS program. In addition, I produced flyers and aided in designing a marketing strategy for an upcoming ECS event, the Mom, Baby, and Family Health Fair, to be held in Avondale in September. Staff Donella Baskin and Anita Brentley supervised my tasks on the Avondale initiative.

The second major project involved the research of home visitation programs in other states. ECS is preparing for the possibility of dissemination of their core programs and must gather information about home visitation programs in other communities. I began my research by contacting home visitation programs who serve under the Healthy Families America (HFA) umbrella organization. In addition to contacting HFA programs and retrieving annual reports, I conducted extensive internet research on home visitation programs and outcome measures. I accessed major scientific articles through the Children’s Hospital and University of Cincinnati database. ECS consultant Pat Snider directed this project and oversaw my progress.

Finally, the project that required the most autonomy and consumed the most significant portion of my energy and time was the laptop project. ECS requires that a detailed outcome measure documentation process must be completed after each home visit. The home visitors are out in the field during much of the workday and all documentation must be entered on a web based program. There has been a need for research about the nature of home visitor documentation processes and whether it would be feasible and desirable for ECS to fund the acquisition of laptops for their 105 home visitors. After initial meetings with program coordinator Margaret Clarke, research director Dr. Robert Ammerman, supervisors of ECS agencies, and home visitors, I created an 11 item survey that was distributed to all ECS home visitors. The survey responses were carefully documented and analyzed. In my final report, I discussed the home visitor responses, cost, benefits and disadvantages of acquiring laptops. At the conclusion of my internship, I presented my findings to the ECS staff and fielded any questions they had about my research and results.

The nature of my projects afforded me the autonomy to design my work schedule and set my own deadlines for most of my tasks. I attended as many staff meetings as possible so I could learn more about ECS, especially its careful attention to best practices. In addition, I met with the president of ECS, Dr. Judy Van Ginkel, every week for informal conversation. We talked about my progress, any questions I had, and the current state of our government and society. It was a rare and invigorating opportunity for me to connect to a person with a wide berth of experience, expertise, and insight.

During my nine week stay, I was fortunate to be housed with Ariel and Huxley Miller in a beautiful neighborhood three miles from ECS. I was able to borrow a bike from Ariel and ride to and from work. On sweltering days, I took the Metro bus line, which stops half a block from the Millers’ house. For weekends, special events, and whenever else I needed to go out, I organized car pools with others, rode the bus, and biked. Cincinnati is a sprawling city, but I managed my way through the summer.

I was integrated into the Miller household seamlessly, and got along wonderfully with their four cats and another summer guest, Tracy Dohn. Meals were taken together, and family outings were the norm. Because the Millers’ children are grown and out of the nest, I believe Tracy and I were a welcome addition to the quirky, high energy couple.

At play and exploration: Yale alumni Jonathan Lippincott and Thalia Ghiglia

Yale Club of Cincinnati president Jonathan Lippincott was my initial contact for the internship. Through phone calls and emails, he familiarized me with ECS and Cincinnati. When we finally met in July (he was on vacation until then), it was a great pleasure to dine with him and enjoy a 3 hour scenic bike ride along the Little Miami River. Jonathan served as an available resource for Sebastian Perez (the other AYA fellow) and me throughout the summer. Between Ariel, Huxley, and Jonathan, I felt extremely comfortable in Cincinnati and had all my questions and concerns addressed as soon as I could pen an email (or holler down the laundry chute to Ariel).

Yale alumna Thalia Ghiglia and her dynamo three year old son organized enough fun for me this summer to last a lifetime. She volunteered to connect Sebastian and me with the cultural side of Cincinnati and introduce us to prominent Yalies in the area. Thalia always kept us busy with events - we had something to do at least once a week! One week, we met John Pepper, Yale alumni and former CEO of Procter and Gamble. The next, we toured the classical radio station WGUC with Yale alumna and radio personality Naomi Lewin. In addition to events organized by Thalia and the Yale Club, I also attended an environmental justice conference in Athens with Ariel and Huxley, and had some time to explore Cincinnati on my own.

YALE CLUBS –

Over 140 domestic Yale Clubs and Associations and more than 40 International Clubs provide a "Yale away from Yale," keeping alumni connected to the University, to their local communities, and to each other. These alumni groups are run by volunteers and reflect Yale's core values of education, community, and service. Yale Clubs offer alumni a wide variety of activities, services, and opportunities. You can rekindle old friendships, make new acquaintances, continue lifelong learning, enjoy special events, and explore professional opportunities, all the while helping to enhance Yale's reputation in your community.

YALE CLUB OF BOSTON Glenn Murphy ‘71

Since graduating from Yale in 1971, it has been my pleasure and my passion to remain connected to this extraordinary place through alumni service. Like so many, I have worn many alumni volunteer hats through the years: fundraising, recruiting, being a class officer and serving as reunion chair, representing my class and my club as a AYA delegate. The highpoint was without a doubt my stint on the AYA Board of Governors. I currently sit on my Class Council, am mentoring the son of a classmate in New York, and will be on the planning committee for our 40th reunion.

But my most enduring, consuming alumni service role has been my three decades of service on the Board of the Yale Club of Boston. (you know you’ve been around a long time— perhaps too long—when all eyes turn to you whenever the term “institutional memory” comes up) Founded in 1867, the mission of the Club is to enhance the visibility and reputation of Yale University in our community through leadership, philanthropy and service. The day-today work of the Board is to facilitate the connection of area Yale alumni with the University, its faculty and students, and with each other across the generations. We also offer logistical and financial support to the Alumni Schools Committees in our region, to the Yale Scholarship Trust of Boston, and to other Yale alumni groups.

We are fortunate in having a large, geographically concentrate alumni body and, with our rich academic environment, a steady stream of Yale academics, administrators and athletes streaming through Boston. This both keeps the alumni connection “warm” and provides many opportunities for events and gatherings, large and small, throughout the year. Each Board member is expected to propose and “champion” at least one event per year; we generally hold 12-15. The events are managed by our paid part-time administrator (without whom we simply could not function!) Board members are also expected to identify and recruit new candidates for membership on the Board and its committees.

Our greatest challenge, as the traditional notion of a “club” seems to be waning, is engaging our alumni. There is a well of goodwill toward Yale out there to be sure, but we recognize we must be increasingly creative in tapping it to further our mission. I have taken a special interest in our younger alumni, beginning with the undergraduates from our region while they are still at Yale, in hopes of getting them used to the idea of connecting with the Yale family wherever they end up. I am proud beyond words that my son, Yale ’07, has taken his Old Man’s effort to heart and stepped up to lead the young alum effort for the Seattle Club.

Three years on the AYA Clubs Committee must have rubbed off, as I have taken on the task of reviewing and updating the by-law’s governing our Club. This goes well beyond ensuring that all the pronouns are gender-neutral; as the local Yale Clubs are the “boots on the ground” for implementing the AYA Strategic Plan, we have to make sure we are properly structured to deliver and that the rules we set ourselves to follow will help, not hinder, our doing so.

YALE CLUB OF CHICAGO Scott R. Williamson ‘80

“Any event that attracts more than a handful of Yale alumni is, by definition, a great event.” I do not know who first said that, but it is why I think Yale alumni events are successful, and why the “Yale Club” concept works. Except for New York City, the “Yale Club” is not a bricks and mortar concept; it is a relationship-based concept. Yale alumni are interesting people with diverse backgrounds and interests. When they get together, they exchange ideas and have fun.

These days, the notion of a “club” is a little antiquated, since the ease and cost effectiveness of electronic communications is making obsolete an administrative, mail-based organization – in which information is valuable. In addition, younger alumni do not identify with the stodgy concept of a “club” as much as they do groups of like interest. But whatever the nomenclature, any means that can gather Yale alumni is something that AYA needs to do. Financing is an on-going issue, since it becomes hard to justify paying dues when most local events are publicized broadly, but it is something to which the clubs will adapt.

My introduction to the Yale Club of Chicago (YCC) came via my participation in the Alumni Schools Committee (ASC), the organization that interviews high school seniors and then recruits students to Yale. I met a number of wonderful people on the YCC board of directors, and these relationships have helped anchor my sense of Yale community in Chicago. It was an honor to have served as the club president in the late 1990s. It remains an honor to be associated with this group in my capacity as Chairman of the Chicago area ASC organization, and I use the affiliation to have a constituency to report on the ASC’s local efforts throughout the year.

The YCC performs a number of traditional roles – hosting luncheon speakers, evening networking events, museum tours with academic speakers and the like, attempting to reach as many of the more than 4,200 Yale alumni who live and work in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. YCC also cooperates with a sister organization, the Yale Club of Chicago Foundation, which raises funds for Chicago area students who qualify for need-based financial aid to attend Yale College.

More and more, YCC is seeking out community service opportunities to draw alumni together. We have a group of alumni who tutor underprivileged grade school students at the Elihu Yale Elementary School (ironically located on Princeton Street) in the impoverished south-side Englewood neighborhood where over 95 percent of the students come from families receiving aid. YCC also is an active participant in AYA’s summer community service program. Each year, YCC raises funds to sponsor, house and pay stipends to two to four undergraduates who come to Chicago to work over the summer in various community service endeavors. YCC participates in ventures such as Chicago Cares, a city-wide event that attracts more than 15,000 volunteers to work on projects such as cleaning up parks and painting schools. We have determined to expand those efforts, because we find that we attract a broad group of alumni.

Any alumni who move to Chicago should look into YCC if YCC does not find the alum first!

THE CINCINNATI YALE CLUB Barbara Wagner ‘73

The Cincinnati (Ohio) Yale Club (CYC) is Yale’s oldest alumni association. Although I’m not a Cincinnati native, I have lived in Cincinnati for over 20 years and have been active in the CYC for most of that time. There are approximately 500 slumni and “friends” of Yale (widows, widowers, parents) in the Cincinnati area, of whom approximately 100 pay dues and are active in some Yale Club events, although it is rare to get over 50 people at any single event.

The CYC’s current constitution is attached as Exhibit A. Its purpose is to:

 promote friendship and continued learning among local Yale alumni;  enhance ties between Yale and its local alumni;  help Yale attract, evaluate, matriculate, and support highly qualified applicants from local secondary schools; and  promote and enhance the reputation of Yale within the Greater Cincinnati community.

The CYC hosts several traditional events each year – an annual meeting, with a dinner and speaker from the Yale faculty or administration, a telecast of the “Yale-Harvard Game”, in conjunction with Harvard alumni, and a summer outing (picnic) – and several other events on an ad hoc basis. These may range from hosting a Yale undergraduate singing group concert, to informal “brown bag lunches” where a local alum speaks about his or her job or a particular project he/she has worked on, to educational programs, such as a speaker with some affiliation to Yale speaking on a relevant topic in arts, architecture, history or current events to a networking event, such as a women’s lunch or young alumni happy hour. The CYC also supports the Alumni Schools Committee and a scholarship fund.

The was founded in 1864 (see the original articles of association in Exhibit B). At that time, Cincinnati was the largest city in the US west of Philadelphia. So while alumni from New York, Boston, Washington and Philadelphia were close enough to New Haven that they could travel to New Haven within a day or two, from Cincinnati this was still quite a multi-day trek. For those interested in getting together, it made sense to create a local organization to reconnect and to encourage students from the area. Its original purposes were (i) fellowship, (ii) to introduce Yale to local students who were going to be attending the college and (iii) to encourage the value of a college education generally.

When I graduated in 1973, in the first Yale class which had women undergraduates for all 4 years, I was leaving a world where, as a student, I was in a minority (8:1 ratio of men to women my first year to about 4:1 my last year) and joining an alumni world where I was in an even smaller minority (however many thousands of male alumni at the time to approximately 500 women). Suffice it to say that this “old boys” network seemed unsure how to deal with women alumni, and I had some difficulty being welcomed by many Yale alumni clubs in many locations where I lived during my first several years after graduation.

When we moved to Cincinnati in 1987, I sought out the CYC as one way to meet peole in the community. Cincinnati is a very traditional city with (by US standards) a long history and many prominent local families. When we first arrived in Cincinnati, one of our neighbors noted that they were considered “newcomers” after 13 years in Cincinnati. So, I was concerned that the CYC might have even longer pedigrees and less receptivity to newcomers. However, despite my trepidation, they welcomed me, and immediately invited me to participate in events and, within a short time, to join the board. (Little did I know – until later

– that they were undergoing their own internal crisis, with too many older alumni members and very few active younger alumni. So they were thrilled to welcome me as one of the few alumni under age 40.) Several members went out of their way to welcome me to the community in a variety of ways, with much more enthusiasm than other civic and social organizations with which I tried to make contact. So I quickly developed an interest in, and loyalty to the CYC.

I have been on the Board continuously since 1988 – originally as “new blood”, now more of a gray-haired eminence. My primary role (since 1990) has been as chair of the Alumni Schools Committee, which coordinates with the admissions office in recruiting and interviewing local students from the greater Cincinnati area. However, I have served as President of the CYC (in the late 1990’s) and usually coordinate or organize at least one event for the CYC each year. I also served as the CYC’s delegate to the AYA, and in my capacity as ASC director, I am also very involved in the CYC Scholarship Committee. I focus on creating and enhancing networks, encouraging participation by alumni, in whatever ways and to whatever extent they wish, and cross fertilization of ideas and activities. For example, as ASC director, if there’s anything I’m aware of that the CYC is doing that might be of interest to Yale applicants or students who have been admitted to attend Yale or their parents, I try to ensure that they are invited. By the same token, if there is an ASC activity that may be of general interest to alumni in the area (e.g., a visit from an Admissions Office representative), I try to make sure that the CYC publicizes it.

The main thing I enjoy is meeting other Yale alumni, of different ages, doing a variety of things in Cincinnati. As a lawyer and working in large public company, I have a lot of contact with other lawyers and businessmen, but it’s through the CYC that I have met doctors, musicians, academics and many others with whom I might not otherwise interact. It’s fun to compare notes about various aspects of Yale with people who are either older or younger than I am, but generally we talk about a much broader range of topics – whether at official CYC events, or in the sidebar discussions at CYC board meetings. Sometimes I think I should devote less time and effort to the CYC and more to activities with a stronger service (rather than “social”) mission. However, I have been able to tailor my participation to include many service activities.

The CYC continues to evolve to meet the needs and interests of local alumni, as well as trying to serve the local community more generally. In the past few years, a young alumni subgroup has developed, we have coordinated more events with local alumni groups from other universities (from sharing information about a speaker or event to co-hosting a luncheon with local political candidates) and started a women’s network and hosted Yale Day of Service projects. These have brought out Yale alumni who have not attended the more traditional events. My personal evolution has gone from being the voice representing younger alumni, challenging the older members to encourage participation for younger alumni (for example, instituting different pricing levels for events based on years since Yale graduation) to encouraging the alumni coming along behind me to find their own programs and interests, stay active, and take over stewardship of the CYC to meet their needs and the needs and interests of those coming behind them. For those alumni who get more involved in CYC activities, or become active on the Board, it fosters a strong sense of stewardship and relationship with the University.

The CYC’s biggest challenge is offering programs and activities that appeal to local alumni. Many people believe that local alumni associations are becoming an anachronism when so many connections can be made via the internet. So the issue is how to serve the needs of local alumni – and whether they have needs which can be met by a local club. Even those active in the CYC’s leadership ask themselves if it is worth the effort when there are approximately

500 Yale alumni in the greater Cincinnati area, and only approximately one-fourth of those participate, even occasionally, in CYC activities?

Another challenge is financing. The CYC collects dues from its members (approximately 100 paying dues members in any given year, who pay from $25 to $75 apiece), and sometimes requests special funding for certain events. The dues cover administrative expenses (costs of copying, putting together mailings) and cover the shortfall for events which may not break even. Each event is planned and priced in a manner to be approximately break-even, but if fewer people participate in an event than expected, if unanticipated expenses occur or if the Board decides to price in a manner to encourage participation (e.g., by subsidizing younger alumni), then costs may not be covered. There is no paid staff and all board members and event planners serve as volunteers

YALE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND Charles Weller ‘66

The Yale Alumni Association of Cleveland's began its partnership with Cleveland Public Schools, which had 75,000 students in 125 schools when the partnership began in 2000, at Brooklawn Elementary School, an inner city school with on average 400 children. Initially a number of Association retirees tutored one or two students to improve reading, math and science literacy. Considerable thought and effort was done on how to bring new technology of interactive computers to students who needed more time at school and ideally at home to increase their reading-math-science literacy. This lead at first to using a new interactive and inexpensive standalone computer device called the LeapPad. The LeapPad had numerous advantages, including the kids loved them, no extra teacher time was required, they were inexpensive, they could be thrown away if broken, and they could be used by a child without parental or other supervision for hours. About 35 LeapPads, with various reading, math and science books were provided, and allowed each child to spend hours with one-on-one interactive "computer books" to improve their reading-math-science literacy. Over time, the Yale Alumni Association of Cleveland also: 1. Arranged a "Virtual Visit" by TRW Apollo Rocket Scientist Pete Staudhammer to explain to Brooklawn 4th and 5th Graders how the TRW rocket engine was used on all six Apollo missions, including the Apollo 13 rescue. TRW was an international company headquartered in Cleveland. The rocket engine was 10 miles away at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Pete is in the picture below with Jim Lovell in front of Jim Lovell, Pete Staudhammer and TRW's the rocket engine Pete and TRW built that was Rocket Engine used in the Apollo 13 rescue -- and in the webcast to the Brooklawn students. YouTube video: at http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=28IhhuTlmLM 2. Arranged Live "Virtual" Opera Program from the Cleveland Institute of Music to Brooklawn's Kindergarten Classes by Web Teleconference 3. Arranged Live "Virtual Visit" to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History African Senenkunya Exhibit with Dr. Bill Harper. 4. Arranged Visit by Dr. Ralph Gardner, a Chemist who worked Arranged TRW Apollo Rocket Scientist Pete Staudhammer to visit on the Manhattan Project and retired from BP as a chemist. 5. Arranged donation of 17 "Smart Boards" for each Brooklawn classroom.

YALE CLUB OF GEORGIA Ray Kimsey ’73, MArch ‘75

Upon graduating from Yale in 1975 and moving back to Tennessee, my alma mater seemed far away. Even attending reunions seemed challenging. But soon after my wife Kathleen and I relocated to Atlanta in 1979, we were invited to hear Yale President Bart Giamatti speak to the local alumni. There I recognized a few acquaintances from school but, more importantly, connected with a whole new group of alumni. I started attending meetings of the Yale Club of Georgia and began interviewing for the Alumni Schools Committee. Eventually, I was asked to become an officer, primarily because of a lack of interest from anyone else. I moved up through the ranks and became club president.

My major accomplishment as president was a strategic planning initiative to reach out to both older alumni and recent graduates, revamp leadership positions and create an annual calendar. This was before the internet and communication with members was a major expense and obstacle. We refined a phone tree model for contacting members regarding programs. The most significant result was an infusion of new leadership with active committees and enough momentum to carry the club forward.

Roughly a thousand miles from New Haven, the Yale Club of Georgia is a “distant” alumni constituency. Atlanta and the State of Georgia have never been traditional “feeders” for Yale, but like many areas of the southeast, southwest and west coast, we have had a steady influx of Yale alumni. Because of the explosive growth of Atlanta over the last 40 years, the number of alumni in the metropolitan area has grown significantly, to currently over 2,000 Yale alumni, parents and widows. The club has existed informally for a number of years. There is no historical record of its founding since it has never been incorporated. Activities have traditionally centered around fall member receptions, a softball game with Princeton alumni, visiting faculty speakers from New Haven and an occasional visit from the current University President.

Since the creation of the AYA in 1971, the Yale Club of Georgia has been an active alumni organization and has had typically good communications with New Haven. Many club leaders have been actively involved with the University. Former Ambassador to Australia, Robert McCallum, is a former member and president as is Cecil Alexander, a Yale Medalist. However, the effectiveness of the club has varied over time depending on the strength, creativity and persistence of changing club leadership. The Alumni Schools Committee has been a consistent high achiever, with former club presidents often stepping into the leadership role. This year, despite a 41% increase in applications, 100% of the candidates were interviewed by Georgia alumni. The Community Service Summer Fellowship Program has been supported continuously since being created by the AYA, again with former club presidents taking an active role. Placements have included Hands On Atlanta (a model community service program), Project Prevent, a teen pregnancy counseling program, and the East Atlanta Kids Club.

The club has been challenged by the large geographic area of the state, with pockets of alumni actively involved outside of Atlanta, especially related to ASC interviewing. The isolation of alumni in the metropolitan Atlanta area, due to traffic congestion, is a challenge. There is also the issue of perceived isolation of newly transplanted alumni living in the popular suburban areas from long-time alumni living in the city’s in-town neighborhoods. This “isolation” is also generational, with recent graduates unsure of the value of membership.

Atlanta remains one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. More significantly, it is a top destination for recent college graduates. The number of Yale alumni

moving to Atlanta or other areas of Georgia is likely to accelerate significantly over the coming decade. This represents a major opportunity for the club to gain new energy but also means that the structure for leadership and format for programming will have to respond to this new “Generation Y”. It also means there will be continued pressure on the local Alumni Schools Committee to find interviewers for a burgeoning population of Yale applicants.

As a result of these challenges, the club is currently in the process of developing a new strategic plan to re-engage current alumni with a more personalized touch while laying the groundwork to attract new members and develop better leadership. The focus is on communications tailored to age bands. Venues are likely to be varied to provide a perception of better accessibility. The program committee will work to strengthen specific events. The possible strategy of asking for donations in lieu of dues is under debate. This would emphasize that everyone is a member of the greater Yale alumni community. The Community Service Summer Fellowship is likely to remain a key activity. All these activities must work in concert with the AYA and it’s new strategic plan.

Moving from Club President to co-chair of the Alumni Schools Committee and AYA Assembly Delegate, I also became the first Coordinator for the Community Service Summer Fellowship. While an AYA delegate, I video taped all of the club planning meetings and events and, with help, edited this into a video for the AYA to share with other clubs. I continued to interview (and still interview) for the ASC and attended club meetings and class reunions, but was less active until my daughter Anna, Class of ’05, arrived at Yale. Friends suggested volunteering as an Assembly Delegate again. My interest in being connected to Yale spiked as a result, and I ran successfully for the Board of Governors.

My three year tenure as an AYA Governor is just ending. It began just as Mark Dollhopf arrived as Executive Director and initiated a broad strategic planning process. This was an exhilarating effort. I have been a part of the bench marking team evaluating other schools’ reunions (I was a Nathan Hale spy at Princeton). I have recently chaired the Club Committee, and have served on the Constitution, Graduate/Professional Schools, Assembly/Long Range Planning and Alumni Fellow Nominating Committees. My Board of Governors activities have also led me to re-engage with the leadership of the Yale Club of Georgia, where I am currently helping facilitate the strategic re-assessment of volunteer leadership opportunities, programming and communications. However, the highlight of my involvement with the Board has definitely been participation in the first Alumni Exchange to Australia National University. The interaction with representatives of ANU was thought provoking and a truly unique experience.

My involvement with Yale as an alumnus has been deeply rewarding and I savor my memories of my involvement with Yale over the last quarter century as much as those of my all too quick sprint through my school years. I am looking forward to my second assignment with the Alumni Leadership Exchange Program as we work with Todai University and the UMIC. I believe my experience as a “born again” alumni leader should help me understand better the goals of our hosts, who are focused on building a more vibrant role for alumni in the life of their universities.

THE YALE CLUB OF HARTFORD IN BRIEF Frank Berall ’50, JD ‘55

The Yale Club of Hartford was started over 50 years ago for greater Hartford alumni to support Yale University. It schedules educational programs by distinguished Yale professors, interviews seniors in local area high schools and private preparatory schools who have applied to Yale, raises funds for Yale scholarships for them, gives book and other awards to outstanding students, as well as involving alumni in social and fundraising activities. There is an annual party for students accepted to the freshman class, to encourage them to select Yale over other colleges to which they have been admitted.

My first involvement with the club was for about five years, during which I interviewed candidates from the senior classes of local high school and preparatory schools. Then I spent another year on the Scholarship Committee, helping select highly qualified “admittees” for Yale Club scholarships. Thereafter, following a number of years of inactivity, I was asked to be Vice President of the Yale Club of Hartford. My main duties then were obtaining luncheon speakers with Yale professors, as well as at our annual dinner. I continued this work even after becoming President. As such, I served first for two years. After a several year break, I served as President for another three years.

My reasons for participating were a combination of my love for Yale, my desire to become better acquainted with local Yale alumni, to encourage them to become active in club affairs, to help screen potential undergraduates, and to obtain additional education from Yale Professors.

The Yale Club of Hartford increases local area alumni interest in Yale and involves them in Yale’s Annual Day of Service. During the latter, club members work in their local communities on various projects to improve them and add to Yale’s reputation of giving service to church and state.

Our biggest challenge is to interest recent graduates of Yale College and its graduate and professional schools, particularly women alumnae in club activities. We would like to increase the number of women to at least half of our membership. Since Yale College did not admit women until 1970, although they had been admitted to Yale’s graduate and professional schools for many years before then, there is a smaller group of Yale female graduates than male ones.

The Yale Club of Hartford honored my service in two different years: first by awarding me the Betty McAllip Award and then the Nathan Hale Award. The latter was for exemplary leadership, character and service and extraordinary dedication to Yale, church and community associated with Nathan Hale, Yale Class of 1773 and American Revolutionary War hero.

THE YALE CLUB OF HARTFORD Frank Berall ’50, JD ‘55

The mission of the Hartford Yale Club, similar to that of other such clubs elsewhere in the United States and abroad, is to bring together and serve alumni of Yale College, as well as Yale’s graduate and professional schools. Among its activities are monthly luncheons (between September and May), featuring talks by distinguished speakers, usually Yale faculty, but sometimes local community leaders and politicians. On various occasions, Connecticut’s Attorney General, its Secretary of the State as well as incumbent and former legislators have addressed the club. Many of our speakers make PowerPoint presentations or use other projection methods to illustrate and supplement their talks.

After a national or statewide election, we hold a debate between distinguished Republican and Democratic politicians. At our annual dinner in May, a very distinguished Yale professor gives the principal speech, preceded by a presentation of awards for service to the Yale Club and the Hartford community.

The club presents Yale Book Awards annually to outstanding high school seniors in Central Connecticut, as well as the Betty McCallip Award to a Yale Club member for distinguished service to the club, the Nathan Hale Award for distinguished service to the greater Hartford community, athletic awards to outstanding Yale Sports’ team members, as well as several other prizes.

At an annual Sports Night, coaches from several of Yale men’s and women’s teams, together with some of their outstanding players come to Hartford for dinner and socializing with club members, give talks about and movies of their seasons’ highlights and the next year’s prospects and presentation for awards to outstanding athletes. We also have joint events with other college clubs (Harvard, Princeton and Cornell), sponsor concerts in Hartford by the Yale Glee Club, the Yale Alumni Russian Chorus, the Whiffenpoofs and other well known undergraduate singing groups. Pure social events include cruises on the Connecticut River, trips to Yale to see a varsity game or to attend one in Hartford.

We have a website listing our current officers, future speaker and social events, club news, how our members serve Yale, how to become involved with the club and the local community. There is also information about other clubs and links to other Yale websites.

The Yale Club of Hartford was started over 60 years ago by alumni (mostly of Yale College) who believed that because of their large numbers in Greater Hartford, a club would provide an opportunity to meet socially, have education programs, interview local high school seniors applying to Yale, award scholarships to outstanding students and represent Yale in this community.

As a holder of both Yale College and Yale Law School degrees, I have always been an enthusiastic Yale supporter. In 1960, five years after graduating from its law school, I moved from New York City to Hartford and became active on the Hartford Yale Club’s Alumni Schools Committee. For about nine years, I interviewed local high school seniors applying to Yale. Then I served on the club’s Scholarship Committee for a year. After returning to private law practice in 1970, I temporarily discontinued my involvement.

However, in 1998, I again became active in the club as a Director, organizing lunch meetings with prominent Yale faculty speakers. Shortly thereafter, I was elected its Vice President. Then, when the President Elect relocated, I was elected President, serving as such for five of the past nine years; first for two years and, after a four-year hiatus, for another three years. This office, and my then concurrent status as an ex-officio delegate to the Association of Yale Alumni, gave me extensive new responsibilities, both to the Yale Club and the AYA.

My initial involvement, interviewing applicants to Yale College, helped me understand Yale’s admissions process. Thus, I was better able to advise my son when he applied to college. (He only applied to Yale, requested early action and was admitted to the Class of 1981 from which he graduated.) Twenty-eight years later, my motive for becoming a Director, Vice President and finally the Yale Club President was because I thought that by organizing lunches at which distinguished Yale faculty and other local celebrities spoke would enhance the Yale Club’s image and thus that of Yale University in the Greater Hartford community. As I moved up in the chairs, I came to enjoy my leadership role, overseeing all the club’s work.

One reason I was considered for club president was because of my two years experience as President of the Culver Summer Schools Alumni Association and Trustee of the Culver Educational Foundation. The duties and responsibilities of these offices as well as being founder-president of the Culver Club of Central New England and a Vestryman of St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, prepared me for my duties as a Yale Club President.

Besides monthly speaker luncheons, I tried to recruit new people to the club’s board of directors. Somewhat jocularly, I complained at one board meeting that we had too many elderly male lawyers on it (such as myself) and should encourage recent graduates, especially young female non-lawyers to participate in Yale Club affairs. This has been somewhat difficult, possibly because many younger women interested in being active in the club are also lawyers.

One of my gratifying personal experiences as President began when a young lady, newly admitted to Yale’s freshman class decided to matriculate, despite her Harvard graduate father’s appeal to her to go there. While an undergraduate, she became one of our Community Service Summer Fellows, working at Real Art Ways in Hartford. After graduating from Yale College (and Virginia Law School, where she met and married a Harvard graduate), she returned to Hartford to practice law with a local firm (while her husband is in another one).

She showed so much interest in Yale Club activities that we elected her to the Board of Directors. Then, when AYA’s new Day of Service program was created last fall, I asked her to organize our club’s participation. She created and managed a large group of members to work for Foodshare, as our contribution to Connecticut’s Yale Clubs’ pilot program of community service. Next, she arranged for several of us to teach a local fourth grade class about business. Her other contributions to the club, as well as her fine work in handling our new community service responsibilities convinced many of us that she should ultimately become club President.

Earlier, I worked with another of our young woman directors. She organized and supervised so many club events, that we made her a Vice President, expecting to elect her as President within a few years. However, she decided to leave her Hartford job and enrolled in an out-of- state law school. We hope she will return to Hartford and again be active on our Board.

Among my other rewarding experiences are friendships made with several Yale faculty members who came to speak at our luncheons or annual dinners. Among the outstanding ones are those with Professor Charles Bailyn, Head of the Astronomy Department, and Professor John Gaddis of the History Department. Several years ago, Charles and I were on a Danubian Yale cruise from Vienna to Budapest and a flight into Romania to observe a total eclipse of the sun in Bucharest. Throughout the trip, he gave several excellent lectures about astronomy and we spent many evening hours on the deck looking at the sky while he enlightened me and answered many of my questions about astronomy.

Professor John Gaddis, his wife Toni, and I were on a Yale cruise from Lisbon to Portsmouth in 2007, during which both of them gave several excellent lectures. This June (2008), we traveled together from Vladivostok to Moscow on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express, with a visit to Outer Mongolia. Besides superb lectures by both of them, we had lengthy discussions about Russia and the history of the cold war.

Other outstanding Yale lecturers at the Hartford Yale Club included Professor Claudia Urry, Head of the Physics Department, with whom I discussed dark energy, dark matter and the accelerating expansion of the universe, and Dr. Ramon Jimenez, a Phi Beta Kappa Summa Cum Laude Yale College graduate. He used PowerPoint while lecturing on arthroscopic (one day minute incision) surgery, which he performs at Hartford Hospital.

In my roles as an ex-officio delegate to the Association of Yale Alumni and, after retiring from my first two-years as club president, that of a regular AYA delegate for three years followed by an ex-officio status again during my last three years as President, I have been most impressed with the AYA’s programs, especially the Yale College curriculum revision project. Along with many other delegates, I spent a number of hours reading the course catalog, selecting a major and four years of courses, to be able to discuss proposed revisions to the curriculum.

Now that I have retired for the second time as President, I have again been appointed as a delegate to the Association of Yale Alumni and hope eventually to be elected to its Board of Governors so as to serve Yale this way. At the very least, I will participate in AYA affairs and, if elected to the Board, will be delighted to have an additional opportunity to serve Yale.

The Yale Club of Hartford, along with the many Yale clubs in other cities in the United States and abroad, does the following things for the University:

a. Helps screen applicants for Yale College’s freshman class, by interviewing high school seniors who have applied to Yale;

b. Finances scholarships by raising funds from club members and other Yale alumni for needy students attending Yale from Greater Hartford;

c. Gives prizes to outstanding high school students and local community leaders;

d. Presents outstanding professors to lecture to Yale Club members and other people in the greater Hartford community;

e. Enhances Yale’s overall image in the community by undertaking community service projects.

During my initial ten years involvement with the Yale Club, the latter was not particularly active locally; there were no more than one or two lectures per year, the club was more a social one holding smokers and a major sports night. However, the dues paying membership was substantially greater than it is now, largely because several local life insurance companies and both of Hartford’s then largest banks employed many Yale College graduates; thus, their supervisors encouraged them to join.

During my second ten years of activity (since 1998), the club has had far fewer dues paying members. It does have a very active nucleus of some directors who meet monthly between September and June to handle program logistics, decide on awards and assist our Alumni Schools Committee. For a very long time the latter has been headed and is still chaired by a past President of the Yale Club, who works as the Alumni Coordinator of Renbrook, a local private school.

We do not have sufficient dues income to fund all our programs and activities. Fortunately, several people affiliated with Yale (not only alumni, but family members and widows of alumni) help us financially. However, the costs of operating the club exceed our present income. The newly elected President, who succeeded me in June, has a big challenge to place the club in a sound financial position without reducing its activities.

The greatest opportunities the club has are (1) to provide education to its members by distinguished Yale professors, who speak to us several times a year, (2) help screen Yale

College applicants, (3) encourage them while enhancing Yale’s reputation by making awards to outstanding students, (4) sponsor local events by Yale singing groups, and (5) work with other local alumni groups to perform community service to the Greater Hartford community.

There is an affiliation between the Yale Club of Hartford and the Culver Club of Central New England.2 The affiliation between the Yale and Culver Clubs is largely due to some overlapping membership. The Culver Club of Central New England was founded by me about ten years ago and has piggybacked most of its meetings with those of the Yale Club. The latter graciously invites Culver Club members to most of its functions.

THE YALE CLUB OF NEW HAVEN Dan Koenigsberg ‘62

One hundred years ago in March 1909, 300 Yale graduates, motivated by the lack of affiliation with the University once they graduated, gathered in New Haven to inaugurate the Yale Alumni Association of New Haven. The first such club had been started 35 years before in Cinncinati and individual class organizations had in fact been in existence as far back as the late 1700s, this group was. Club dues were set at 1. and at the time Yale tuition was $155 (¥ 159) per annum. The initial purpose was to "cultivate social relations among Yale men....and to extend the influence of the University," but this was later amended to importantly acknowledge "the benefit which Yale...and the City...could derive from each other" according to the Yale Alumni Magazine, May, 2009. In 1916 the Club awarded two full tuition scholarships to deserving students from area secondary schools and subsequently has branched out into a variety of other initiatives on behalf of the University and also the community. The name was changed to in 1960 to be more inclusive of other non- undergraduate constituencies. Fast forwarding to 2009, the grant program had increased to 280,000. awarded to 62 deserving students, both graduate and undergraduate, from the area.

The Yale Club of New Haven, unlike its counterparts in other cities, is in the unique and challenging position of being in close proximity to the University itself, and as such must establish its own identity and appeal separate from that of the school and yet continue to contribute to the institution. Now in its Centennial year, demographic trends have resulted in membership leveling off as the younger generation becomes increasingly less focused on organized school ties in traditional ways. Alternatives to attract younger alumni are under review and there has been a renewed emphasis on community service, both at the local and also international levels.

The latter mission overlaps with the mission of a very different group, the Yale Alumni Chorus, and it occurred to me that there was an opportunity for synergies between the two. By way of background, the YAC consists of men and women from all classes who sang as Yale undergraduates, and over the decade plus of its existence the group has performed in 5 continents in major international venues along with prominent orchestras. The purpose of the organization was not only to provide a robust musical experience for its members, but also as a vehicle of cultural exchange in the service of giving to others. For example, the group has inaugurated and funded choral and other music programs in impoverished areas in countries it has visited, and it views its mission, as one of the tours was aptly named, as "Ambassadors of Song."

2 The Culver Academies of Culver, Indiana, consist of Culver Military Academy, Culver Girls’ Academy, Culver Summer Naval Calvary and Aviation Schools for boys, Culver Summer Girls’ School and the Culver Woodcraft Boys and Girls’ Camps (for pre-teenage children).

With that background in mind, this alumnus has organized a musical event in celebration of the Yale Club of New Haven Centennial with a performance by the YAC (and also tentatively the Yale Glee Club.) This will occur in early 2010 and will also likely include a name soloist. The event will be for the benefit of student scholarships, and the proceeds after expenses will be donated to that cause through existing Club mechanisms. While the concept is not unique, this club has not undertaken a project of this scope in the past, and it will require significant collaboration between the two alumni organizations. Although the overt goal is to commemorate the 100 years of existence of the YCNH and enhance scholarship efforts, the subtext is both to promote the principal of giving back to Yale and at the same time to provide a significant benefit to the community.

As with many Yale Alumni volunteer endeavors, the activities themselves become their own reward, and it is gratifying to see both the University and the community benefit from efforts such as these.

THE YALE CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY Kathy Edersheim ‘87

The Yale Club of New York City was founded in 1897 by a group of Yale alumni who wanted a place to meet and socialize with their friends and, perhaps, recapture a little of the spirit of Yale. Originally located at 17 Madison Square and then 30 West 44th, the Yale Club's current clubhouse on Vanderbilt Avenue opened in 1915. Hailed for its dignified neoclassical design, upon the opening of the 22 story building, the Yale Club became the largest clubhouse in the world and continues to be the largest college clubhouse in the world. The clubhouse includes a Main Lounge, Library, 138 guestrooms, three restaurants, modern athletic equipment and banquet facilities. During the past century, members of the Yale Club have included leaders in government, business and the arts. Currently, the Club has over 10,000 members, many living outside New York in the United States and overseas. The Club offers a wide range of events for its members, often with a Yale “flavor,” such as lectures by Yale professors and administrators, author talks, concerts by Yale music groups, theme dinners, tasting events and holiday celebrations.

The Yale Club is a separate institution from the University and is independently managed as a not-for-profit corporate entity. Although there are no legal or official ties, the Club tries to support the vision of the University by bringing alumni together, sponsoring events that reflect the Yale culture, providing a base for Yale faculty and administrators when they are in New York, raising money for scholarships for Yale, sponsoring three AYA Summer Community Fellowships and giving the Yale Book Award. Our library houses the largest collection of Yale printed material outside of New Haven and we continue to subscribe to many Yale publications.

Like many Yale alumni who moved to New York when they graduated, I joined the Yale Club at the first opportunity. It seemed to provide a nice place to hang out and an opportunity to stay connected to Yale and my Yale friends. After a few years, I found I was not using the Club very much and I decided I should either become more involved by joining one of the many Committees or resign. At a cocktail party organized to recruit members to Committees, I was lucky enough to meet the Chairman of the Activities Committee, the group responsible for organizing and hosting all the events provided for members. He invited me to attend a meeting with the potential to join the Committee if I was interested. An interesting note is that for the past 7 years, the Club has hired a Yale graduate as the Activities Manager, the member of the staff who works closely with the Committee and does most of the logistical work. This has been very beneficial because he or she understands the interests of the membership and is often called on to work with Yale alumni as guests.

After being on the Activities Committee for a few years, I became the Chairwoman, was elected to the Council (our version of the Board of Directors) and joined the House Committee. Subsequently, my successor took over the Activities Committee and I joined the Finance Committee. I was then Chairwoman of the House Committee for four years, Secretary for one Year, Vice President for two years and then President from June 2006- June 2008. It has been an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Not only have I met and become friends with many wonderful people, Yalies and others, but I have learned a tremendous amount about the hospitality industry and management. As a volunteer at the Club, I feel I have contributed to the perpetuation of a worthwhile institution that brings enjoyment to many people and reflects well on Yale University. As a past President, I will stay on the Council for at least one year to help my successor and ensure we maintain the legacy of institutional memory that is very valuable.

The Yale Club has changed in many ways over the years. Some of the changes are obvious, such as admitting women after Yale went co-ed starting with the Class of 1973, and others are more subtle. The Club sponsors many more events each year than it used to and many of those are for young members (graduates of the past ten years) and are organized by the Young Members Committee which was started in the 1990s. Over the last ten years, the Club has also expanded its reciprocal club program providing a tremendous benefit to our members when they travel and also to the members of the reciprocal clubs. I am pleased to say that the ANU University House is a reciprocal. The Club has done a tremendous amount of work on the building, some for maintenance purposes and others to reflect the changing interests of the members: the billiard room is now a restaurant, the athletic facilities have International Squash courts and the hotel rooms have TVs. What has not changed is the camaraderie of the membership and the warm feelings of knowing that you have a “home-away-from-home” and a feeling of connection to Yale in midtown New York.

The Club faces the challenges of many businesses at this time. The Club loses almost 10% of its members each year so it must constantly attract new members. In general, the Club has to continue to provide the highest level of service to its members in the hotel rooms, the food and the activities while keeping prices at a moderate level (most member events are free for members). The Club also has to continue to evolve with the interests and life styles of its members. As for the potential to grow, the Yale Club can continue to increase its membership and can also expand in a few small ways – through more activities and more reciprocal clubs- but it is also constrained by the capacity of the Clubhouse. Recently, the Club has been successful in attracting new members and providing a wonderful atmosphere for Yale alumni to meet and enjoy the company of their friends, both old and new. I hope it will do so for many generations.

CLASS LUNCHEONS AT THE YALE CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY James Larsen ‘04 Activities Manager, YCNYC

The Yale Club of New York City shares and actively strives to further one of the founding goals set forth by the AYA and reaffirmed by the recent strategic plan: “Provide opportunities for alumni to connect and reconnect to the University.” To further that goal, many years ago, the Club was eager to cooperate when it was approached by the representatives of a college class to help organize a Class Lunch. For the Class Lunch, the Club would provide a table in one of the dining rooms and organizers from the Class, with the help of AYA, would contact as many people as possible from the class to invite them to the event. Anyone from that class, whether or not a member of the Club, who happens to be available, is welcome to join fellow classmates for the meal. Although I do not know when this tradition started, for decades, these monthly Class luncheons have served as a great, informal way to connect and reconnect with fellow alumni from a Yale Class. Some of the participants at the luncheons think of the events as mini-reunions outside of New Haven, events that bring alumni together frequently to relive good times at school and to talk about the goings-on in their lives and at Yale.

The program has grown to include more than 20 classes. Many Classes have luncheons in multiple cities. Typically, a Class meets for drop-in luncheons on a given day of the month (e.g. the first Wednesday of the month or the third Thursday of the month) at about 12:30 pm in the Club’s Tap Room. Because the luncheons are open to all members of a class, I frequently see alumni from outside the City drop by to catch up with their classmates when they visit New York. Thanks to the Club’s convenient location, right across the street from Grand Central Terminal, it is convenient for many travelers. The luncheons remain open to all and when I talk to alumni I heartily encourage them to come to the Club and see a few Yalies that they haven’t seen in a while. Most luncheon groups average between ten and fifteen

people for each month, and although some participants are regulars who attend every month, others join in when they can so alumni keep getting reacquainted with different classmates.

My work with the Class lunches began recently. When I came to New York City in 2006, I became interested in the Yale Club of New York City. Unlike most Yalies, rather than just become a member, I decided to accept a job there. Now, I am Activities Manager at the Club so I work closely with the Activities Committee, made up of Yale alumni members volunteering their time, and the Club staff and management to produce all the events for members (and their guests). In particular, over the last few months, I have enjoyed seeing that so many alumni from so many Classes continue to enjoy these casual standing luncheons at which they catch up with each other and hear news about Yale. However, to my dismay not many Classes from the past thirty years participate in the program. It has become my goal to increase involvement from the recent Yale Classes in the monthly luncheons. The enjoyment of Classes of the 40s, 50s and 60s that have met for many years and continue to find the luncheons a special opportunity to reconnect has inspired me to establish a tradition for other Classes too.

Recently, I have been working with AYA to approach the Class Secretaries or another representative from each class year to help organize a lunch. The initiative has been very successful. Starting in September, at least 8 more classes will join the program. The obvious goal of the program is to have a regular luncheon meeting for each class. I would also like to work with the Senior class at Yale so they start having a class luncheon program as soon as they graduate, providing continuity to their engagement with Yale. The broader concept of the program would be to expand to include the graduate and professional schools. Considering that the class sizes are smaller, it might make sense to organize each lunch around a cluster of years, such as Law School alumni who graduated between 1990 -1993. The challenge is to find an organizer from each class or group and then help each class maintain interest in the program. Although the Club provides the table, food and drink, no lunch would be successful without the invitation being issued by a fellow Yalie, in particular a classmate.

Going forward, I would like to help other Classes (College or Graduate or Professional School) or Shared Interest Groups establish a monthly luncheon for their alumni to share the rewarding experience of reconnecting with old friends, making new friends and staying connected with Yale.

YALE CLUB OF PITTSBURGH John Scales ‘54

Several years ago I was asked to become a member of the Board of Governors of the Yale Club of Pittsburgh. I think that the officers felt that they were somewhat overloaded with people from the City serving on the Board and needed some representation that was a little more rural. I fit the description, being about an hour east of Pittsburgh where the mountains begin.

From day one serving on the Board I experienced an excitement that never diminished, and only increases with each successive volunteer opportunity. I have served on the Pittsburgh Board of Governors for many years and continue to do so. As soon as a vacancy developed, I became a delegate to the AYA Assemblies and I don’t believe that I have missed an assembly since. The assemblies were so interesting that I became a candidate to serve on the AYA Board of Governors. Fortunately, I was elected and had the marvelous experience of being on the Board during the Tercentennial Celebration in 2001. Being heavily in Yale Club affairs, I was asked to chair the AYA Club Committee for two consecutive years.

At the Yale Club of Pittsburgh we have discovered that one of the best ways to engage alumni and to attract alumni of all ages and all backgrounds to get involved in Yale Club and alumni activities is to provide an opportunity for alumni to be of service, to be useful and to know that they are making a difference.

Several years ago, through the Deputy Director of the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank (who happens to be my daughter), we as the Board of Governors and a club, volunteered to help the Food Bank distribute food to people in need. As volunteers, we meet with the Pittsburgh Food Bank staff early in the morning (Saturday) at a large volunteer fire department building in an area of the city that can best be described as depressed. Large tractor trailers filled with donated food arrive well before the recipients who need the food arrive at the fire hall. We set up conveyor belts and unload the trucks and place various types of food on different pallets similar to an assembly line, for distribution. Amazingly, very little of the food is spoiled or unusable and the items to be distributed include potatoes, bananas, onions, oranges, grapefruit, canned juices, canned vegetables and many other desperately needed products. There is of course a small amount of candy available for the children who come with their parents to receive the food distribution.

On average, six hundred individuals receive food at each of these sessions. We have been strengthened in our resolve to provide community service by the gratitude, politeness, good humor and obvious need of the people who benefit from the Food Bank distribution.

When we began, it was mostly Board members of the Yale Club of Pittsburgh who participated and we had about a dozen of us at the first session. The program has been so successful that our numbers have increased each time. In addition to Board members, other alumni have joined in, as well as the children of alumni, and student volunteers from local schools have helped as well. All of us who have participated have personally felt the spirit engendered by this project, far beyond the good feelings that always exist at any Yale gathering.

This type of community service is not difficult to do; it simply requires two or three people to organize and a number of people willing to contribute some time and physical work. Incidentally, my daughter told me that I did well enough on potatoes at our last distribution, that I may be promoted to grapefruit next time.

Community service provides almost unlimited opportunities. Since we are in the education business, books are important. When Yale was celebrating its 300th birthday in 2001, and I was Chair of the Club Committee for the AYA, it occurred to me that part of the birthday celebration should involve giving to our local communities in addition to celebrating our 300 years of accomplishments.

The idea that I hit upon was to give 32 books in the name of the University, the AYA, and the Yale clubs, such as the Yale Club of Pittsburgh, to local high school libraries and local town libraries. The number 32 was chosen of course because of Elihu Yale’s original gift of 32 books to the Yale University library. I also had t-shirts made up that said “Yale 1701-2001 - began with 32 books - now over 10 million and growing.” I can recall trying to find out at the time how many books there were in all the Yale libraries. No one seemed to know for sure and finally in a meeting at Sterling with the librarian, I was told, “Just say over 10 million and you’ll be fine.”

I and others arranged to go to high school libraries. I would meet with the Superintendent, High School Principal, and Librarian and actually present the books, many of which were by Yale authors. It was a lot of fun selecting the books, and as you can imagine, the entire project was a lot of fun. Beyond the fun, however, what I discovered was the following:

(a) Appreciation and gratitude on the part of school and town libraries;

(b) A dramatic increase in knowledge of Yale on the part of students, faculty and guidance counselors.

Somewhere in the AYA building on York Street, is a film of one of the presentations of the 32 books to a high school. This is one of those gifts to the community that continues to influence people into the future. Even now, when I speak with parents and students about Yale, I receive comments about the books that we gave in 2001.

------

I am most familiar with two areas of alumni activities: Yale Clubs and Alumni Schools Committees. Yale Clubs and Yale alumni have or should have unlimited imagination and therefore there is no limit to what can be accomplished.

One of my most important projects was to organize a trip to New Haven for certain key people from two adjoining public school districts. From each district I invited administrators, teachers and guidance counselors.

We had two full days in New Haven and our visit included the following:

(a) Personal meeting with the Dean of Admissions; (b) Meeting with AYA representatives; (c) A student tour of the campus; (d) Informal luncheons and dinners with current Yale students from Western Pennsylvania; (e) A meeting with a Residential College Master; (f) Group brainstorming sessions.

The trip was a true awakening for most of these public school educators. We live in an area where not a great deal of thought is given to Yale when students and parents and teachers and guidance counselors are thinking and talking about college for their students. It is extremely

important for Yale not to be an afterthought or a far off almost unattainable goal even for the extremely bright and accomplished students.

The trip to New Haven provided a true beginning of interest in Yale.

Further inroads have been made by two other projects in which I am regularly personally involved:

I go into the schools by making arrangements with high school principals and administrators and meet with small groups of 11th grade students. I take Yale materials with me, including photographs and course books, and will spend an average of two hours meeting with a selective group of students. I am bombarded with questions and interest is very high. The students almost always knew nothing about the residential college system, the scholarship programs, the shopping period for course selection, the nature of the University and New Haven, the diversity of the school, the opportunities for study abroad and many other important factors.

These sessions have been very productive and are as important and instructive for the alumni volunteer as they are for the high school students.

Of course we also give Yale Book Awards which have helped to create a strong feeling for Yale in our local schools. I always try to select a book that matches the interests of the student who has been selected by the faculty and each book is presented on behalf of the AYA and the Yale Club of Pittsburgh.

Nothing, of course, is more important than the interviewing of applicants to Yale through the Alumni Schools Committee. I have been interviewing students for many years and am constantly amazed at the quality of almost every student. I know that Jeff Brenzel has said that he interviewed students for many years and not one of them was accepted. I have had my share of disappointments but fortunately, some of my very best interviews have gone to and graduated from Yale.

Permit me to share one experience. When I interview a student, at some point I always ask this question: “What is the most satisfying thing you have ever done?” The answer to that question often provides a terrific insight into the student’s character, intelligence and leadership potential. I asked that question of a young woman from a rural county in Western Pennsylvania. She answered by saying, “The second most satisfying thing I’ve ever done was to have gone down the rapids at Ohiopyle and realized when I finished the run that I could do it and that accomplishment felt good.” I thought that was a pretty good answer, so I said to her, “If that was the second most satisfying thing, what was the most satisfying thing you ever did?” She responded, “Sitting there in my raft surrounded by all the guys who had come down the rapids with me and whipping off my helmet so that all my long blond hair fell out and the guys realized that I was a girl and that I could do it as well as they did.” I thought that was a wonderful answer and I gave her an excellent recommendation. She is now an alumnus of Yale.

The most recent interviewing season in Western Pennsylvania, resulted in 47 different alumni interviewing approximately 145 applicants. No one regrets the time they spend interviewing. It is not only an important role; it’s a rewarding experience as well.

One of the secrets to Yale Club involvement and success is to provide to our alumni interesting and varied activities that are also meaningful. Good speakers of course are important for our annual dinner and other programs. Dick Broadhead’s first and last appearance as Dean of Yale College was at the Yale Club of Pittsburgh. The Yale Club of

Pittsburgh is larger of course than some of the clubs in vary sparsely populated areas, but we are considerably smaller than the large metropolitan clubs such as New York, Boston, Washington and Chicago. As a result, we try to have significant events each month and those events typically include the following:

(a) the annual dinner (b) musical events with a visit from a Yale singing group (c) outdoor barbeques (d) receptions for students and parents (e) holiday parties (f) Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank and other community service projects (g) timely lectures (h) visits to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and its sensational dinosaur exhibits (i) visits to the Pittsburgh Science Museum (j) other similar activities.

At our annual dinner, we conduct an auction in order to raise scholarship money. The auction consists of numerous donated items including museum memberships, tickets for sporting events, musical events and the Symphony. One of the most popular items is a miniature display that combines Yale and Pittsburgh, similar to the miniature displays that have been given to past Chairs of the AYA and to Jeff Brenzel on his leaving his position with the AYA and becoming Dean of Admissions. The miniature display that we auction at our annual meeting has a Yale football and pennant next to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates and Penguins pennants.

YALE CLUB OF THE SUNCOAST Oliver J. Janney ‘67

The Yale Club of the Suncoast is a smaller regional association, which serves four counties. It was founded in 1957, primarily to provide an opportunity for fellowship. The population of the Sarasota-Manatee area consists largely of retirees and, when I arrived about 22 years ago, comprised mostly seasonal residents, generally referred to as snowbirds. The Club’s season generally ran from just after Christmas until mid-April. In recent years we have more year-round residents and more of our seasonal residents arrive earlier and stay well into May. The Club’s seasonal members tend to spend more time here than the average snowbirds, so our Club’s primary “season” extends to about seven months. In recent years our membership has averaged about 125, although the AYA’s list of persons in our area with Yale connections exceeds 450.

The Club’s social functions have expanded over the years to include seven monthly luncheons with speakers and five monthly drop-in luncheons from June through October At least one of our luncheons with speakers features a Yale faculty member. Others include distinguished Yale alumni or local leaders in our community. We also host various social events, including an annual welcome back party held in a converted mansion on the bayfront in October or early November, a winter event in conjunction with an exhibition at the John & Mabel Ringling Museum of Art and a lobster bake on a barrier island in the spring.

Our efforts to promote Yale in the community are an especially important part of our program. In September and October our Alumni Schools Committee hosts tables at county college fairs to explain the value of a Yale education to students and their parents. For the past five or six years we have also hosted a table at an Ivy League College Fair held on the campus of New College of Florida, our state’s honors college. The February event is by invitation only, students being selected by guidance counsellors at local high schools. This is

an excellent opportunity for in-depth discussions with 75 to 100 sophomores and juniors and their parents. Each year a group of 10 or 15 members of the Alumni Schools Committee interviews applicants for Yale. This year we interviewed 50 students from 18 local high schools and one home-schooled student. Two students were accepted on “early action,” and two were placed on the waiting list. We also present book awards, this year The Yale Book of Quotations, to outstanding juniors at about 15 high schools in our area in the spring. This program enables us to pitch Yale to entire classes or student bodies. Then in June our Alumni Schools Committee hosts a reception for all of the recipients of the book awards and their families. The reception has proved a valuable opportunity to promote Yale to excellent potential candidates for admission and has led to many students’ applying to Yale who were not originally considering it.

We have made a number of efforts in recent years to attract the many persons in our community who are not yet members of the Yale Club of the Suncoast. While I was president of the club a couple of years ago, we began waiving the first year’s dues for new members. That arrangement has brought in many new members. A sign of the increase in younger members is that the present and immediately past presidents and our current vice president are still in the workforce. We have traditionally invited accepted students to our April and May luncheons at the Club’s expense and have this year extended free membership and will be extending an invitation to attend our lunches for free to all students currently attending Yale from our area.

With so many of our members departing in the spring, we have not yet figured out an appropriate Yale Day of Service, but we continue to explore ways in which we might further promote Yale in our community and attract participation by younger alumni, perhaps in a season other than spring.

We try to participate in the greater Yale alumni community as well. Our AYA Representative, who is usually a former president of the Club, regularly attends AYA Assemblies. One of our club’s officers participated in the Yale GALE program in Turkey in 2010, and I plan to participate in the program in the U.K. this year.

YALE CLASSES YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1947 Don Rappaport ‘47

My initial alumni leadership role was as treasurer of the Yale Club of Philadelphia, a chance to use my accounting skills and to meet fellow alumni for social and business opportunities.

During the course of my business/accounting career I became deeply involved with the financial management of public education. I was a deputy superintendent of schools in Philadelphia and wrote extensively about the application of program budgeting techniques to educational enterprises.

This caught the eye of Yale and I was invited in the 70’s to join the AYA Board of Governors to help with the budgeting and accounting issues besetting the University at that time. A report was issued by the AYA on these issues and the University’s endowment investment approach. And I had the personal reward that comes from making such a contribution. Finally, I was elected Secretary of my class, 1947 about seven years ago upon the death of our long serving Secretary. Basically, this has been rewarding because it requires being in touch with some of my wonderful classmates and we have had good times at our five-year reunions and the mini- reunions in between.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1951 Mike Pettee ‘51

There must be at least a dozen Yale Classes that claim to be “Yale’s Greatest Class”. That’s understandable because getting into Yale is competitive, staying there is competitive and many graduates move on to competitive life adventures.

So, we in 1951 say to those other “great” classes: “Come on! Can you beat this?”

Because the Yale Class of 1951:

 maintains low Class dues of $25/year (we have high participation and only one other class in the last 60 years can match this);  has 86% participation in the Alumni Fund;  inaugurated the mini-reunion concept - we have had 18 four-day minis, 4 of them international with more planned (we are, after all, octogenarians now);  has profitable reunions and profitable mini- reunions (again, participation);  by not subsidizing such reunions from our Treasury, we devote our funds to Yale scholarships and support of the Wexler-Grant New Haven elementary school project;  has active class participation from our widows, many of who attend reunions and contribute to Yale;  and, finally, we have set the Reunion fundraising records on the 30th, 35th, 40th, 45th, 50th, 55th and 60th Reunions.

So what does it take to become Yale’s Greatest Class?

For the Class of 1951, it took individuals who were each individually nurtured into a strong identification with Yale during their undergraduate years and it took scores of like-minded classmates who matured into alumni leaders, encouraging their fellow alums to excel in their devotion to Yale. These 1951 alumni leaders have always emphasized service to Yale, loyalty to their Class and to each other.

Let me illustrate this with a specific individual example – mine. It’s somewhat confessional, but it illustrates my point on how one undergraduate can affect alumni leadership for the benefit of others.

I arrived at Yale in the fall of 1947 from the Midwest (Minnesota), with the help of a scholarship – that meant a “Bursary job” which cancelled out my board bill - and a Northwest Alumni Loan. Assigned to a single room in “the Barracks”, built for on- campus World War II military trainees situated at the farthest reaches of the campus, I felt alone and I had a lot of trouble adjusting to this new life.

My parents had sent me off to the “the East” with all the wrong clothes and I felt out of place. With just a subsistence allowance from my father, it was months before I could save enough to buy clothing and start to look like everyone else.

I had trouble with my first Bursary job assignment (server in the Graduate School dining room) because I was trying out for the freshman swimming team and practice usually meant I was late for my job to the great displeasure of my supervisor.

My first break came when my supervisor, unable to deal with my late arrivals, sent me to see Homer Babbage, head of the Bursary Department and later the President of Connecticut University. Mr. Babbage, who had great empathy, told me that all the “good jobs” were already gone, but, there was one opening in Freshman Commons in the kitchen. So, every morning at 6 am, I had a quick breakfast with the rest of the kitchen staff and then, until my first class at 8 am, I dried knives, forks, spoons and cups as they came out of “the Yankee Clipper” (the huge dishwashing machine).

While Homer Babbage gave me hope and encouragement that I was going to make it, there were many positive inputs over the next 4 years from Yale classmates, professors, coaches and staff:

 I made the swimming team and that lead to 3 new roommates and we soon were assigned a room on the Old Campus; I earned my major ‘Y`s and, under the coaching leadership of the legendary Bob Kiputh and Phil Moriarity and Harry Burke, we were undefeated for 4 years. Post-Yale, swimming was still an important alumni activity: I swam with the U.S. Air Force team in Europe (I was named Captain) and with the encouragement of Gus Langer Yale ’25 (?) I swam with the U.S. Masters program.

 Over the next 60 years my roommates, together with wives, have remained close, although we have one widow and I am now the only widower. Our 3 ½ years together at Davenport College and a half century afterwards are replete

with Yale-related stories; some funny and some sad, but all too long for this Resource Summary.

 During this time, I met, Nancie Shea Pettee, a student at Albertus Magnus College, “just down the street” from Yale. She was an enthusiastic Yale fan and we were married soon after graduation. For the record, I am twice a widower and my second wife, “Andy” Walton Pettee, was just as enthusiastic about Yale and understood better than I just what Yale has meant for me.

And the list goes on because my academic and social experience at Yale was better and more fulfilling each year.

So what does all of this mean?

Quite simply, those 4 years at Yale as an undergraduate shaped my entire life and I knew from the get-go that my professors, my coaches, my roommates, my Yale friends and their wives and the caring Yale staff would determine how I would function as an alumnus.

The scared scholarship kid from Minnesota SAW and EXPERIENCED what a Yale education can mean. He was determined that others should have the same opportunities. How better to accomplish that goal than to be a volunteer in alumni activities?

Over these past 60 years, I have been:

 a Class Officer  Davenport’s Class Agent  a Chairman of Agents  a Special Gifts Chairman  a Special Gifts solicitor  on the Reunion Committee  an AYA Delegate  the Reunion Directory Publisher  1951’s Webmaster  and, as of our 60th Reunion in June 2011, Class Secretary

Now, with Yale’s global outreach plans, perhaps I can transmit some of that alumni experience for the benefit of other world leading universities.

YALE DIVINITY SCHOOL CLASS OF 1952 Richard C. Stazesky, YDS ‘52

When I was a student at Yale Divinity School, 1949-52, it was the custom for the senior class to elect a president and a secretary. A close friend of mine, Paul Hammer, was elected president and I was elected secretary. There were no written job descriptions for either position. The only specified duty for either was for the secretary to arrange for the class photo that would be placed on a wall at the school along with other class photos of many years duration. This involved having individual photos taken of the 101 members of the class, 94

men and seven women. Also during a class’ senior year, the school administration appointed class agents. Another friend, Rick Mapes, and I were appointed class agents. The responsibility of a class agent was, and still is, to urge class members to contribute to the YDS Annual Fund. This is for scholarship aid for YDS students. Rick and I divided the class equally between us.

On my own, after graduation in June 1952, I decided that I would seek to keep the class together through an annual newsletter. The first one, made up just of names, addresses and employment, school or other status was sent to the members of the class in September 1952. I have continued to send the annual letter for 55 consecutive years and expect to send a 56th edition in December 2008. The annual letters have been greatly expanded over the years. Every year each class member is asked to give an update on such things as work, family, schooling, degrees earned or honorary ones received, travel, publications, reading, etc. Themes were often suggested for comment, such as evaluation of training received at YDS, state of the Church, major social issues, paranormal experiences, etc. I also added to our annual letter faculty who were at YDS 1949-52, widows/widowers of deceased classmates and persons who started with our class in 1949 but who dropped out of YDS or graduated with another YDS class.

Every five years I compiled a profile of the class based on a survey of about 30 questions, which varied over the years. Due to my perseverance I always got a 90% or better response on the five year survey. The response on the annual letters varied, but averaged about 30%. YDS encourages class reunions on a five year basis. Every five years I, therefore, urged classmates to return during the YDS Convocations for our reunions. The attendance at the 25th, 40th, 50th and 55th reunions was very good, about 40% of the class. The percentage of participation of the class at its 40th, 50th and 55th reunions was the highest for any YDS class in the last 60 years.

Rick Mapes and I worked very hard over the years to get our classmates to support the YDS Annual Fund. As a result, in the last 30 years or so our class has always been among the top five classes in terms of amount given and percentage of participation. In l989 I decided to give $50,000 to YDS to endow a scholarship in my name. I asked Rick Mapes to try and get a match for this from our class. By 1994 I had fulfilled my $50,000 pledge and Rick had raised $85,665 from our classmates to endow the YDS ’52 Scholarship. This effort led the alumni officer of the school to challenge the other classes of the 1950s to endow class scholarships. Some did and the result of my initial gift of $50,000 led to $l,000,000 in endowed scholarships by the classes of the 1950s and their individual members. For our 50th reunion in 2002, our class established the YDS ’52 International Scholarship Fund. The first recipient, from India, graduated in May 2008.

What caused me to undertake this annual class responsibility and maintain it for 55 years, which in turn has been the basic reason for the financial support for YDS noted above? The answer is in the words “community and faculty”. Yale Divinity School, since 1938, has been housed in a beautiful quadrangle built on a sloping hill. There were four dormitories on each side and at the top of the campus is a lovely chapel flanked by the library and the administration/classroom building. Behind these but adjoined to them is a large common room, an equally large refectory and a gymnasium. Most of us were single and lived on the campus, ate together in the refectory, worshipped together five days a week in the chapel, were often together in the library and common room and attended classes together and many played together in the gym. Married students, who lived off campus, were still part of this close knit community. This community was so meaningful to me and, I knew, to many, many others in the class that I decided, after graduation and having been elected the class secretary and appointed a class agent, that I would try and keep this community together and its spirit alive.

Another major factor was that we had been taught by a truly outstanding faculty, all of whom were experts in their fields, many even internationally known, and very good teachers but also truly interested in their students. There was a great deal of student and faculty interchange both in and out of the classrooms. It is the faculty that makes a school appreciated and fondly remembered by its alumni.

Finally, I served for six years as chairman of the YDS Annual Fund, 10 years on the YDS Alumni Board; to which one is elected by alumni and 10 years on the YDS Board of Advisors, to which one is appointed by the president of Yale University.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1956 Marvin Berenblum ‘56

In the mid-90s, the executive committee of my Yale Class of 1956 decided to conduct a mini- reunion. I assumed responsibility for setting up a committee and organizing the event. We identified a topic which we felt would be of special interest - revisiting the ‘50s when we were undergraduates and exploring how those times and our experiences at Yale influenced the course of our lives thereafter. We were able to secure the involvement of two remarkable members of the Yale faculty - Cynthia Russet, who was head of the Graduate School, and her husband, Bruce, who was the Dean Acheson Professor of Political Science. They provided us, our spouses, and significant others with advance reading materials, and facilitated stimulating work-shops.

We selected a venue which we felt would be particularly conducive to fresh thinking - Aspen, Colorado, in the wondrous Rocky Mountains - and scheduled the three-day event in the middle of the winter so that our hearty participants could enjoy themselves in the off hours, skiing and dog sledding. Of course, what would a mini reunion be without excellent food and entertainment? We made sure that all of the good things in life that Aspen had to offer were part of the experience.

This was such a positive event that two years later we returned to Aspen with the same two professors for a follow-on mini-reunion. Our new topic was a sequel to the previous one - comparing Yale and the culture of the ‘50s with that of the ‘90s, and how the enormous changes that had occurred affected us and our way of thinking. Once again, the workshops were wonderful in affording us the opportunity to explore our life experiences in a stimulating and open manner with classmates who had shared a common formative heritage at Yale. That is not to say that we lost out in any respect on the athletic challenges and social conviviality afforded by the venue.

This all culminated in our 45th reunion in New Haven in 2001, at which time we continued the "conversation" with a focus on future prospects for Yale, the larger society and ourselves. Reunions have so many facets that it was a major challenge to find an opportunity to include this initiative in our program. As it turned out, our two professors - who now had become honorary class members - continued to provide workshop facilitation, and once again the experience was simply exceptional for us to gain further insights about ourselves in the context of a fast-changing university and world around us.

A 50th reunion in New Haven and a mini-reunion in New Orleans have transpired in the past few years, and now we are planning a mini-reunion in Washington, DC next spring. I'm pleased once again to be part of planning and organizing the event. These events are unique opportunities to connect with one's classmates in special settings, and not only to gain a perspective on others' lives, but most significantly on one's own. It's been particularly

gratifying for me in that I believe I prospered from the interchange with the professors in developing the themes and curriculum, as well as from leading and facilitating some of the sessions.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1957 AND SOM ‘85 Rod Correll ‘57

I graduated from Yale in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in a major called Industrial Administration ( I.A.). Seen through my father’s eyes, my four undergraduate years were more of a cocoon, a place to hide from the real world, our family’s leather tanning business. In retrospect I think he eventually agreed that this degree, which was intended to prepare me for a career in industry, did a more than adequate job. I could “talk the talk” as I left Yale and started to “walk the walk”, but my path led me far away from my own desire to become an academic and pursue graduate school education. It wasn’t until I returned to Yale in 1983 as a rather over aged student at its School of Management (SOM), that I really “connected” with the university and started playing roles in my undergraduate and graduate school classes. Those connections have been of great significance and brought me great satisfaction, bringing me ever closer to understanding and living Yale’s motto, “For God, for Country and for Yale”.

My career as a “volunteer” for Yale began in the fall of 1984 after a summer working as an intern in the NYS Department of Commerce. In my day SOM was known as the Yale School of Organization & Management and the degree it offered was an MPPM, a Master’s degree in the field of Public & Private Management. Its stated goal at the time was to train managers to become leaders in the public, private and not for profit sectors, individuals who, over their lifetimes, would be capable of crossing sectors and being equally effective in their new roles. This vision inspired me; there was, I saw personally that summer, the need for managers in the public sector who were skilled at motivating individuals, building effective work groups and controlling costs, disciplines that my experience in the private sector had taught me were necessary in any organization, regardless of sector. The problem was that while many of my fellow students bought into this vision, not many could afford to take the lower paying internships offered by public and not for profit sector organizations and, as a result, would probably head off to far better paying jobs in finance or management consulting after they graduated. Seeing an opportunity to slightly tip the balance, an entrepreneurial classmate and I put up $50,000 each in seed capital in 1985 for an initiative called the Loan Forgiveness Fund. Our hope was that we could challenge other SOM stakeholders of all sorts (alumni, corporations, foundations, fellow students, and the school itself) to come up with additional funds that would be used to partially pay off student loans for SOM graduates taking lower paying jobs in the public and not for profit sectors. This hope has indeed become a reality; starting in 1992 with grants of $7,200 awarded to 4 students the annual distribution from the fund has grown to $1,500,000 awarded to 160 participants in 2011.

Having reconnected with Yale while I was at SOM I began to widen my focus and accepted the job of Treasurer of my undergraduate class, a position I held from 1987 to 1992. Eager to fund innovative class activities while keeping the class’ exchequer healthy, schooled now in the art of creating databases and adept at building networks, I took a decidedly active role, forging a collaborative link with the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA) and speeding up and improving the recording of class finances. Following on this stint as an officer on the Class Council I was asked in 1997, to take over the role of Chair of Class Agents. This in turn led to membership on the board of the Yale Alumni Fund in 2002 and, for the last three years, to a position on its Executive Committee. In all, my involvement in fundraising for Yale has spanned over 25 years including positions on the Special Gifts Committee for our 45th, 50th and 55th Reunions and the post of co-chair of Planned Giving for our 55th Reunion this year. Along the way I also received the Alumni Fund “Chairman’s Award” in 2008 at a splendid

dinner held in the new St. Thomas More meeting facility. As I give up this role after my 55th reunion and take on a new one as Class Secretary I look back with pleasure remembering the many friends I made and forward to the chance of concentrating my efforts on “friendraising”, both for Yale and for myself.

Flashing back for a moment to my involvement with SOM, I recall with pleasure and a bit of pride, the six years (1992 - 1997)I served on the board of the SOM Alumni Association, the last 4 years as its president. Coming off a particularly fractious period (1988 - 1992) during which Michael Levine was its dean and SOM dramatically shifted its focus, the perception of many of SOM’s alumni was that the School had lost its way, turning its back on the goals and values that were in place when most of us were students. Even when a new, less combative dean, Paul MacAvoy, took over in 1992, there was still a suspicion that the School did not know where it was headed. This was the sense of most of the SOMAA board members as I joined it in late 1992. There was a definite disconnect between the School’s administration and its alumni and a reluctance to address this issue head on. A spokesman was needed to heal this rift and, given my silver mane and my natural inclination to act as a peacemaker, I appeared to be a likely candidate to open a conversation with the powers to be.

The acting dean at the time was Stan Gartska, one of SOM’s professors at the time I was a student. I liked and trusted Stan and, ever so slowly, started bringing the two sides together, convincing my fellow SOMAA board members that the Administration was listening to our concerns and getting Stan to understand and start to address some of them. By the time Jeff Garten came on to the scene as dean in 1995 some progress had been made. There were still significant rifts among the faculty, many alumni still remained disaffected, doubtful that the School would ever return to its roots as a bastion of interdisciplinary learning. But progress was being made and by the end of my tenure Alumni Fund donations, in terms of dollars and percent participation, were trending upward.

I will close out this essay with a short paragraph about yet another link I forged with Yale when I set up a Charitable Remainder Unit Trust (CRUT) at the Medical School to fund research on bi-polar illness in 2002. This disease has afflicted several members of my family, including myself. When I learned of the work being done by Yale Medical School staff in this area I was impressed and when I recognized the financial implications of creating a CRUT to set up an income stream to support one of my children I was convinced that this was the win-win solution I had been looking for. I have not been disappointed, in the financial results produced by the Trust or in the progress being made in the research being done on bi- polar illness. In addition, an unexpected plus, it afforded an opportunity to me and my wife, to learn in detail what was being done through presentations made to us by the research staff and to meet as well with other leaders in this field.

All in all, I can truthfully say that the challenges and opportunities that come from being a volunteer for Yale have been both exciting and energizing. My wife may grouse occasionally about the time I spend at my computer or on the telephone dealing with Yale matters but I think she will agree with me that my involvement with the University has been enjoyable for both of us and has served me well.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1959 Ed Greenberg ‘59

In 1995 our Class Council decided to establish an affiliation with a residential college. We had two goals: to support significant student projects and to provide informal settings in which students and classmates could interact. Encouraged by the Association of Yale Alumni, the Council appointed a committee which interviewed college Masters and student leaders.

The Committee recommended an affiliation with Calhoun College and has worked closely with Calhoun’s Master, Associate Masters, and student leaders to create meaningful, stimulating programs.

The focus of our Calhoun affiliation is the “’59 Calhoun College Fund For Excellence.” This is a Master’s discretionary fund supported by an annual donation from our Class Treasury that now awards up to 15 merit-based grants per academic year in an amount not exceeding $500 each. Grant winners submit a written report at the conclusion of each project and often attend ’59 Class Dinners to talk to Classmates about their experience.

Additional 1959-Calhoun College activities have included career nights during which several ‘59ers, including a ’59 wife, talked candidly about their careers. Some lively Q&A with the students followed. With the help of Ben Zitron, we arranged for two busloads of Hounies and several members of the Class to tour Ground Zero on 12/12/01. As I later wrote: “For those of us who were there, it was sorrowful to see the students viewing this scene. Yet, we were proud to be part of a group of concerned alumni who had enabled them to listen to their hearts and make the trip.”

The outstanding success of 1959’s affiliation with Calhoun has become a model for other Yale classes when thinking of ways to enhance their knowledge of undergraduate life and create opportunities for Yale students to accomplish their goals.

Class of 1959 Association of Yale Alumni Community Summer Service Fellowships

The Class of 1959 was the first Yale Class to permanently endow a Yale Alumni Community Service Fellowship. Since establishing that first endowed Fellowship nearly twenty years ago the Class Council has voted on an annual basis to fund three more fellowships. Two classmates have individually sponsored fellowships for the past several years, one on an annual basis and one now permanently endowed, making a total of six Summer Service Fellowships currently funded by the Class of 1959.

1959 Alumni Service Fellows have been hosted by classmates when assigned to work in their communities. Fellows also attend Class Council meetings and annual dinners and report on their experiences in person and with a written report.

The Yale Alumni Community Service Fellowship program has grown substantially since its inception. 1959 is proud to have been an early and continuing supporter of an activity that enables Yale students to do so much for others in many communities while engaging in a very valuable learning experience.

Class of 1959 Monthly Lunch

One of the most popular and enjoyable 1959 Class activities is our monthly Dutch treat lunch in the Yale Club of New York’s Tap Room beginning at 12:30 on the second Friday of each month. We are often joined by spouses or children, and, as part of our affiliation with Calhoun College, one or two of its undergrads. Over the years, more than 100 ‘59ers have attended at least once.

From time to time we convene in one of the Club’s private dining rooms where a classmate speaks on pertinent issues. Winston Lord spoke on U.S.-Asian Foreign Policy, Essie Esselstyn, on environmental issues, and Richard Rhodes, on Mad Cow Disease, the topic of his then recently-published book.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1966 REUNION BOOKS Charles Weller ‘66

Staying in touch with fellow classmates is a high priority among Yale alumni – and the interest grows right after a quinquennial reunion. Many reunion classes for major reunions like the 25th, 40th and 50th reunions encourage classmates to write biographical notes and reflections, printed in books handed out at the reunion. The Yale Class of 1966, for example, printed books for the 25th and 40th Reunions. It is often a wonderful surprise to see how your classmates have changed and grown over the intervening years. As an example, YaleGale participant Chuck Weller's 25th and 40th Reunion notes were: 40th Reunion Yale Class of 1966 Book -- Chuck Weller Example Every day I'm reminded of my great good fortune -- my family, my friends and my Yale education. My wife, Lucy, our fifth-grader Rachel, my parents Harry and Betty, who have passed on , the rest of my family, and good friends. Everyday my Yale education is also present, both in what I do, and in the contrast with what I see around me in education in the inner city, the media and elsewhere. Professionally, I've practiced health care and antitrust law for 30-plus years. Six years ago I stumbled upon the work of Michael Porter at Harvard Business School, and published a book with him and the rocket scientist who designed the rocket engine that landed Neil Armstrong on the moon, Pete Staudhammer, titled Unique Value, on antitrust, economics, education and health care. I recently founded a start-up company, Next Generation Healthcare, LLC, to implement the only new, untried model for health care I've seen proposed over the last 70-plus years, a model Mike Porter and Elizabeth Teisberg described in their May 2006 book Redefining Health Care that requires no government action to implement on a large scale and that I was fortunate to help them develop. More recently, I founded MyJobK99, LLC, a K-12 education company that is aimed at the 50 million Americans with no high school diploma and others, is market-based and also requires no government action. All of which has been great fun. None of which would have been possible without Lucy, Rachel, my family, friends, and Yale. 25th Reunion Yale Class of 1966 Book -- Chuck Weller Example In the Fall of 1964, John Hersey, the Master of Pierson College, asked Henry Margenau, Professor of Physics and Philosophy, to lead an informal series in the Master's House on the secrets of science. We read a Great Mystery Story by Albert Einstein on the mystery of motion that took 2,000 years to solve, we explored the difference between common sense, and horse sense, and we considered Alfred North Whitehead's wonderfully simple yet powerful definition of scientific thinking in the form that appeared in the 1600's with Galileo: the "union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalization." Whitehead's fact-theory definition describes a way of thinking that is now taken for granted in law and many other fields, as well as science. "Since a babe was born in a manger," Whitehead wrote, "it may be doubted whether so great a thing has happened with so little stir."

Today, I'm a practicing health care antitrust litigator and I'm using Whitehead's definition and Yale's interdisciplinary education to do what for me are some very interesting and fun things, like equating legal and scientific thinking in order to separate "junk" from reliable science in environmental, OSHA, and other proceedings under the U.S. Supreme Court's Daubert decisions; advocating a new antitrust law for the U.S. and 100 countries around the world based on Michael Porter's "Five Forces" and "Diamond" analysis of competitiveness and prosperity; in health care, acting to replace "managed care" with a new model based on science and Michael Porter's "cluster" theory, and, in an inner city Cleveland Public School as a pro bono project with the Yale Alumni Association of Cleveland, experimenting with an admittedly different way to improve math, science and reading. Best of all, I married Lucy in 1993 and we were blessed with Rachel in 1995. There is nothing better.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1970 Ben Slotznick ’70, ’73 DRA

April 2009: In the spring – when flowers bloom and hope springs eternal – I volunteered to chair the 40th Reunion of the Class of 1970.

Why? I had not been asked. It was not expected. I was not a Class officer – not even a Class Agent or Class representative to the AYA. Sure, I had attended most of my Class reunions. Of course, the best friends of my life were classmates from Yale. Yes, I had “bit” parts in a couple of previous reunions. True, my youngest daughter was then attending Yale. Yup, I was serving a second term as AYA representative from the smallish Yale Club of Central Pennsylvania. But no one was expecting this of me – and no one was twisting my arm.

So why? I wanted a fleece jacket with artwork designed by my friend and classmate John Boak. And there was no way that would happen unless I was Reunion Chair and could choose such a jacket as the Reunion Souvenir.

And … I had an idea of using this reunion to feature classmates involved in the arts – particularly musicians and visual artists. With important exceptions, these were classmates who had not been highlighted or had not played a part in previous reunions. Then, more generally, there was the idea of drawing in other classmates who had not been previously involved – and doing so by creating new and unique reunion activities and events that would speak to their interests. Even free and low-cost activities – some far from New Haven.

Now to do this, suddenly the “I” becomes unimportant. What is necessary is delegating and enabling. Finding people of talent and nurturing their enthusiasm. Removing road-blocks for them and promoting their efforts. It also meant finding some extra funding – even soliciting frequent flyer miles. Publicizing the inclusiveness of the effort and then responding with enthusiasm when each new cock-a-mamy idea came out of the woodwork. Writing copy, inveigling administrators, collaborating with other alumni organizations. Going the extra mile.

For some, it was like working an extra full-time job. When spring returned, after a year of work, the Reunion blossomed.

Two dozen musicians performed at the Reunion. Classical, jazz, rock, pop, blues, folk, a cappella, protest. Two pieces written just for this reunion (one rock, one classical). Pre- reunion concerts in blues clubs in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles. Class ‘70 “reunion tour” concert “merch”. A post-reunion online “album”.

Over a dozen visual artists contributed work to an 80-page, glossy-print, coffee-table picture book – with a book signing at the Reunion. Reunion decorations included life-sized reproductions of the work of a nationally recognized class cartoonist plus life-sized busts of two departed but beloved administrators. A Class architect created a new self-guided tour of Yale architecture built since 1970. The Reunion opened with a free reception along with a lecture on sustainable architecture in the magnificently soaring conference facility at the top floor of Kroon Hall, then the newest and greenest building on Campus.

Collaborations brought forth new all-class reunion activities for fencers, sailors, and rowers. Pre-reunion fly fishing for anglers at the Yale Pond. Yoga stretching and cane-fu (kung fu for seniors). One classmate was motivated to bicycle a full century (100 miles) to the Reunion.

Various panel discussions were held featuring dozens of speakers. A number of them paid special attention to pre-retirement concerns and anxieties such as reinventing ones-self, coping with age, and religion. A second Reunion Book with class survey and commentary focused on late-middle-age boomer angst. Classmates let down barriers. Classmates opened their hearts. Classmates reconnected with other Classmates – and themselves.

Many dozens of Class volunteers worked on this Reunion. Many in the Class, worked many dozens of hours. Classmates, working together, formed new friendships, or deepened those formed long ago. For these efforts, the Class won the inaugural AYA Outstanding Class Award for Excellence in Programming.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1982 Toby Blumenthal Richard ‘82

I am the Class Secretary for the Yale College Class of 1982, having served in this role since 2003. Yale colleges elect class officers at the reunions which occur every five years. Although I ran for this office at our 20th reunion in 2002, another classmate won the election. When that person was not able to fill the role, I volunteered to take the position. For me, being a class officer represents the culmination of many years as a Yale volunteer. I have fond memories of my undergraduate years at Yale and all of the great people I met while I was there. One of the ways I give back to Yale is through my volunteer service. For the first 20 years after graduation, I solicited contributions from my classmates to the Yale Alumni Fund. I also served as a class delegate to the AYA. I love my “job” as Class Secretary because it keeps me connected to both a world class university as well as the amazing people who were in my class.

What does a class officer do? There are two class officers, a secretary and a treasurer. The primary function of the class secretary is to keep in touch with members of the class and solicit news about them which can be included in the bi-monthly publication of the Yale Alumni Magazine. Most alumni would agree the first thing they read in the magazine in the Class Notes for their class. Everyone wants to know what classmates are doing in their jobs and what is happening with their families. Many of my classmates now have children in college or graduate school. Some of our children are even beginning their careers in a variety of fields. The class treasurer collects class dues from the members of the class and uses the funds to pay for subscriptions to the Yale Alumni Magazine and other class activities such as reunions and class events. One of the biggest challenges faced by class officers is the continual search to engage classmates to volunteer for Yale who have not done so before.

On a more personal level, my father and his three brothers all went to Yale (in the Classes of 1923, 1928, 1937 and 1945W). Having grown up about 20 miles down the road in a suburb of New Haven, I have special memories of joining my father at tailgates and football games at the Yale Bowl. My father was one of the first members of Branford College, and I followed in his footsteps. There I met my husband Gene (Class of 1979) and we have enjoyed many return visits to Yale.

WHY VOLUNTEER? YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 1982 Ed Sevilla ‘82

Like so many of my classmates, being a member of the Yale College Class of 1982 has been a powerful experience in my life. For many years I thought—incorrectly— that my Yale was bounded by four wonderful years as an undergraduate, but sadly was buried in the deep, callow recesses of youth, only to be exhumed every five years in brief spurts of emotion-fueled reminiscences at reunions. Then I became increasingly involved with the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA) and alumni activities—first as a Class Delegate, then as a member of the Board of Governors, with additional Yale volunteer leadership roles sprinkled in. Through this increasing engagement with Yale as an alumnus, I have learned that many essential aspects of Yale—the intellectual excitement, the camaraderie, the focus on contribution to society—are, in fact, not limited to one’s undergraduate years. Through volunteering as an alumni leader, I have rediscovered Yale, and in some sense have rediscovered myself.

It’s an individual story, but really it’s a quintessentially American story. My parents immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in the 1950’s, but our family links to American education stretch back much farther. Both of my grandfathers attended university in the United States in the 1920’s—a rarity for Filipinos at the time. One grandfather received a master’s degree in actuarial science from the University of Michigan. The other’s story is contemporaneous but even more Lincolnesque. He grew up in the rural, southern Philippines and worked as a houseboy for an American family. Diligently, he swam across a river each morning to work at the family’s home, swam back across to attend school, and then swam back at the end of the school day to continue working. The American family was duly impressed and generously offered to pay for him to attend what they called “the best college in the United States”—the University of West Virginia, in Morgantown, West Virginia. There, my grandfather studied agricultural science, and then returned to the Philippines to establish a series of agricultural colleges.

But it was at Yale that these threads began to weave themselves into a bolder, clearer tapestry. As a senior, I served as a Freshman Counselor, living in a freshman dormitory to provide academic and social advice to resident first-year students. As it happened, one was a descendant of William Howard Taft, of the Yale College Class of 1878. Taft famously went on to become the 27th U.S. President and later, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. But earlier in his career, upon the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, he had been named the first U.S. Governor General of the Philippines. As I conversed with Taft’s descendant—the freshman who was seeking my guidance—I realized that the student’s great-grandfather had been the principal U.S. administrator in the Philippines when my own great-grandfather had been of

much humbler origin. Only in America, I thought, could history proceed in such a manner that in mere decades, an inversion of hierarchy and authority could occur, on a very personal level, at a place like Yale University.

Hence my lifelong interest in history and particularly American history. That became my major at Yale and, like many of my classmates, is the backdrop of an ongoing search to define my place amidst its broad, rushing waters. My own career stands at the rapidly evolving intersection of the discipline of marketing and the calling of higher education. While I volunteer for Yale, I also serve Harvard University in my profession, as Executive Director of Strategic Communications for Alumni Affairs and Development. Many of my classmates in the Yale Class of 1982 have found their way to leadership positions, in the broader world and at Yale. Over the years, our class has provided a remarkable number of AYA Board members and officers, Yale club and Shared Interest Group (SIG) board members and presidents, and even one recipient of the Yale Medal (so far.)

In our college days, it was popular to decorate our dormitory rooms with a banner that echoed the closing phrase of our alumni song: “For God, for Country, and for Yale.” What binds alumni together, I believe, is that Yale served as a transformational experience for so many of us. In gratitude, and through AYA leadership, I have sought to translate that sentiment—from a dusty banner which hung in a musty New Haven past—to a guiding principle, in both professional and personal circles, towards navigating a world that has moved beyond New Haven in so many ways yet still stays rooted in our shared, foundational experiences there.

YALE COLLEGE CLASS OF 2007 Katie Allen ‘07

The foundation for a successful alumni network begins while still under the elms of the university! I became involved with the Association of Yale Alumni during my third year of college, when I was elected to the office of Class of 2007 Treasurer. I ran for the position because I wanted to give back to the University and to my class. I had a vision for our Class’s senior year, and I wanted to make the most of the opportunity.

Along with the Class Secretary, immediately after the election I set out making plans for senior year. My goal was to cement the bonds of the members in the Class of 2007 to one another and to the University. Because so much of our alumni relations is based upon Class affiliation, it is important for graduates to feel a tight connection to their Class. Senior year, the Class Secretary and I wanted our class to meet more of our fellow classmates, strengthen our already existing friendships, and reinforce our ties to the University.

The first task we set out to accomplish was to select the members of the Senior Class Council. From a highly competitive pool of applicants, we selected a group of 16 students to serve as pillars of the class. The members of the council served as invaluable volunteers who helped organize class events and promote awareness on campus. At weekly meetings throughout the year we brainstormed ideas together, and they assisted in the planning of different events. We made sure to include students from a wide array of social groups, so that our Council would be reflective of the interests of the whole student body.

Over the summer before senior year, students received a letter from me, asking that they pay their senior dues. Senior dues fund a variety of events throughout the year, as well as events

over graduation weekend. By encouraging students to start paying their dues while they’re still in school, we establish a habit that will hopefully continue for the rest of their lives. Seniors who paid their dues were given a special Class of 2007 sticker for their student identification cards. This special sticker was the entrance ticket to all the senior year events and served to identify members of the Class of 2007.

One of the big initial projects the Class Council and I undertook was to create a month-long calendar packed with activities to welcome the start of senior year. Events ranged from a welcome back picnic on campus to cosmic bowling to a pizza party at a local favorite restaurant.

We kept the momentum going with events throughout the year. Some of the events that we hosted showcased gems of the University. We had wine and cheese events at both the Yale Center for British Art and the Yale University Art Gallery, for example. Additionally we hosted events that enabled our Class to explore New Haven and its surroundings, such as a trip to Lighthouse Point. Some events were traditions passed down through the years, like the annual Halloween Masquerade Ball and “Feb Club” (during the month of February, students take turn hosting parties each night). Others were traditions that we started for our class and future classes to enjoy; events like “Senior Day” out on the sports fields.

The end of May brought senior year to a close with Senior Week – a week with events each day – and with graduation celebrations, including the Commencement Ball, an annual tradition for graduates and their family members. Class Day was a celebration of all that we had achieved. We honored students who had been at the top of the class academically, we presented an Ode to the University, and we heard from a successful Yale alumnus.

To help students ease into the next phase of their life, and to help them stay in touch with members of the class, we set up a database of the post-graduation locations of all the students. Class members were able to sort by city to see who else would be living near them in the coming year. We also keep the class in touch by communicating updates through the Class Notes and annual dues letter.

I am confident that the efforts I have dedicated to my Class have had a positive influence on building Class ties. I look forward to the next few years and new opportunities to further strengthen our bonds. For God, For Country, and For Yale!

FELLOWSHIPS

WENDY E. BLANNING MEMORIAL FELLOWSHIP By Jean Blanning, YDS ‘54

In August 1976, my daughter Wendy Elizabeth Blanning, class of 1978, died instantly of a cardiac arrest. She was about to enter her junior year and was looking forward to taking a philosophy course with Professor Karsten Harries who also happened to be our neighbor. Wendy had often taken care of the Harries children and was special to the family. Karsten, a Yale graduate, and his wife immediately contacted us to say that they wanted to contribute to a fund for undergraduate summer fellowships. Since Wendy was an active participant in her residential college, Calhoun College in which her father had lived in his undergraduate years, the Dean and others worked with my husband, Jim, to set up the fellowship. It was designed for students who wanted to work in a non-profit situation that could not offer any remuneration. The students had financial need and submitted their financial statements as well as their academic records. Each student also wrote a detailed proposal for the prospective project with recommendations from professors and from the lead persons in the agencies in which they would work. At the end of the summer a written report was submitted to the selection committee and to our family.

As other Yale friends heard about the Fellowship, they contributed to its funding. A committee was selected with people from Calhoun College, with Professor Harries and others. Each year funds were raised for the next fellowship award until my husband felt the Fellowship should be endowed. A close Yale friend, Malcolm Brachman, an AYA award winner, stepped forward with a substantial contribution upon which my husband built additional funds through contacts with other Yale classmates and friends. The amount was raised and assured the ongoing nature of the Wendy E. Blanning Memorial Summer Fellowship beyond the lifetime of her parents.

At this time in 2008 there have been 48 recipients of the Fellowship. The winners have gone to areas all over the world and worked at home on projects that have been selected to benefit the human community in medicine, arts, government, law, environment, post-catastrophic needs and other compelling avenues. Each year the winners and the past year winners have a luncheon at the favorite campus restaurant, Mory’s, to learn more about Wendy, to meet me, and to hear from Professor Harries and Kathleen Lawrence, her closest friend at Yale in the class of 1978. This time has been very valuable for the recipients to meet each other and to learn more about the nature and purpose of the Fellowship. They seem to feel the occasion makes the award more meaningful. Some stay in touch with me. It gives me great pleasure to watch Susan Bysiewicz, our Secretary of State in Connecticut, a highly respected position in government, as she carries out her duties. She was a Blanning Fellowship recipient in 1981.

This Fellowship is now in the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs in the university as it has attained a level of some 60 or more applicants a year with awards made to three-five students each year. The Director of Endowments at Yale University, David Swenson, has enabled this endowment to grow so that each year we are able to offer more monies to a greater number.

This Fellowship has brought deep satisfaction to my husband and me. With his death in 2000, it has taken on even more significance in holding in memory his work in getting this established and keeping the memory of my daughter and her love of Yale alive through these spectacular students. It has also afforded my son, Bill, class of 1976, another way to participate in something special for Yale.

With my own graduation from Yale Divinity School in 1954, I am eager to keep volunteering for the institution that has given so much to all members of my immediate family.

CINCINNATI YALE CLUB SCHOLARSHIP FUND Barbara Wagner ‘73

The scholarship fund of the Cincinnati Yale Club was originally set up to provide financial aid to students needing funding in order to be able to afford the cost of attending Yale. It is managed by the Scholarship Committee, which consists of the President and the Treasurer of the Cincinnati Yale Club, the director of the Alumni Schools Committee and two other Yale Club members. As described in more detail below, because of the current financial aid rules at Yale, and other available sources of financial aid, the CYC Scholarship Fund has now evolved to provide supplemental financial assistance to students beyond tuition and room and board. Currently we provide a program of summer fellowships for students from the Cincinnati area to work in community service or do research or study during the summer. The scholarship fund is also used to support certain other financial needs of students from the Cincinnati area who are eligible for financial aid.

The fund itself was started in 1950 and consists of funds contributed by alumni from this geographic area since that time. In the 1990s, the Cincinnati Yale Club did research on other sources of financial aid available to students from the Cincinnati area, and learned that there were several funds held and managed by Yale, which had also been donated by alumni from the Cincinnati area with the specific request that they be used to provide financial support to students from this area. At the time, the amount of those funds was in excess of the “determined need” of students from the Cincinnati area. (“Determined need” is the amount that Yale’s financial aid office determines to award a student for financial aid. Based on the family’s financial situation.) Yale’s policy is that alumni associations are not permitted to provide funding to students above “determined need”. Indeed, if the Yale Club provided unauthorized supplemental funding to students, the funds provided by Yale would be correspondingly reduced.

As a result of these findings, the members of the Scholarship Committee decided to be a little bit more creative with uses for the scholarship fund, notwithstanding the intent of the original contributors. We developed the following additional uses: travel expenses for students who need to make extra trips (beyond those budgeted by the financial aid process), for example due to death or serious illness in the family; summer fellowships; and a limited amount of support for student recruiting activities (the theory being that if more students were recruited to Yale from the Cincinnati area who had financial need, then the scholarship fund could be used for the purpose for which it had originally been donated).

I first got involved because I was director of the Alumni Schools Committee. Because I have more contact with the undergraduates in my role as director of the Alumni Schools Committee and have had more continuity than the other officers of the Yale Club, I have become de facto the chair of the scholarship committee. I communicate annually with students about the scholarship fund and its possible uses, including the summer fellowship program. I make sure that we have sufficient members on the committee to review the applications and make decisions about the summer fellowships. As we developed the summer fellowship program, I coordinated with the AYA, Yale financial aid office, and Yale athletics department to make sure that this program would not violate Yale’s financial aid rules or NCAA rules, which govern alumni support of college athletes.

This particular role is somewhat more of an administrative chore to me than some of my other alumni activities. However, everyone likes to be able to bestow funding on deserving students, and we enjoy reviewing applications from students for summer fellowships and providing funding to those who qualify to permit them to undertake these activities. For example, we have funded some of the following: biomedical research, working in post- Katrina New Orleans for a legal aid society, research on a poet for a senior paper, studying

monasteries in Italy for a senior paper, working at an eye clinic in Africa, an intensive Spanish course in Spain and travel and research in Mongolia.

My goal for this program is to make it self-perpetuating and make sure that whoever is responsible for it can complete the requirements so that opportunities are made available to students from the Cincinnati area each year. At the same time, with Yale’s recent commitments to enhance financial aid for all undergraduates, resulting in proportionately more students qualifying for financial aid, and the fact that in the past ten years more funding has become available to students from other sources to fund summer travel and study, we may need to revisit how the scholarship fund gets applied and determine whether we should let the fund revert to its original purpose of directly supporting financial aid.

Having the scholarship program available and being able to use it to fund summer programs for students from the Cincinnati area has been helpful both as a recruiting tool and as a way of connecting students with alumni. For example, each student who receives a summer fellowship is required to write up a brief report which is shared with alumni from the Cincinnati area, summarizing what the student did with the funding. We have also had some students speak to a group of Cincinnati Yale Club alumni about their particular project. Being able to describe these offerings also helps us in recruiting students who are admitted to Yale. Indeed, one current student who has benefited from this program sent an email to admitted students to praise the strong alumni support in Cincinnati as one more reason to attend Yale.

ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE

The Undergraduate Admissions Office at Yale coordinates the Alumni Schools Committee (ASC) program which comprises 8,000 alumni volunteers in 285 committees throughout the U.S. and the world. The mission of the ASC is to assist the University with the undergraduate admissions effort at the local level. Each committee is directed by a Yale alumni volunteer who coordinates local ASC activities.

The two primary responsibilities of an ASC member are to conduct evaluative interviews of freshman applicants and to serve as the public relations arm of the Undergraduate Admissions Office at the local level.

The ASC interview serves dual purposes. First, the interview serves to assist the Admissions Committee in gathering more information on the candidate. The job of an alumni interviewer is to provide the Admissions Office with his impression of the applicant. How would he contribute to residential and intellectual life at Yale? Does she come across as curious, articulate, motivated, thoughtful, etc..? How is the student special in the Yale applicant pool? Second, it gives Yale candidates the opportunity to learn about Yale from someone who has lived it first-hand. Students are eager to hear about the interviewer’s Yale experiences, and to find out what she has gained from going to Yale.

An ASC volunteer is a local representative of the Undergraduate Admissions Office, and is a resource for local community members who wish to find out more about Yale and about the admissions process. ASC members help encourage top students to consider Yale as a possible college choice. ASC volunteers may attend local college fairs or chat with families and high school counselors about what Yale has to offer. Given that fewer than 10% of Yale applicants are admitted, many ASC members also help educate their local communities about highly selective college admissions.

The Admissions Office asks their alumni volunteers to commit to a minimum of 15 hours per year to the ASC effort, though some members choose to dedicate more time because they find ASC work to be fun and rewarding. The bulk of alumni interviewing takes place from mid- October to the end of November for Single Choice Early Action candidates and from January through mid-February for Regular Decision applicants. In April, ASC members contact admitted students to recruit them to Yale, and many ASCs host local yield receptions. These are fun events where interviewers meet admitted students whom they might have interviewed, and connect with local ASC volunteers. Some ASC members are also active during the fall and spring recruitment season representing Yale at local college fairs.

Alumni generally join ASC because it is fun and rewarding. They are given the opportunity to meet some of the most talented and accomplished high school students in their local community, and they get to share their Yale experience with them, whether or not they end up enrolling at Yale. As an ASC member, an alumnus stays actively connected with both the University and local Yale alumni.

Here are some examples of reports that have been submitted by ASC interviewers about different applicants to Yale (the names have been changed):

A well documented negative report

MARY

This was not a good interview. Mary is difficult to talk to, answering questions in as few words as possible. As hard as I tried, I could not get her to speak at length about anything.

Perhaps more disturbing was the lack of interest she showed in things happening around her. In response to a question whether there were social issues which interested her, which was really an invitation for her to talk about anything which interested her, as the others did, she gave the remarkable reply “No.” When pressed, she said they didn’t affect her so she didn’t care.

She is interested in engineering and the sciences, taking courses primarily in those areas. She works three days per week at a local research center in the bio-engineering lab, which she appears to enjoy and think worthwhile. She says she is busy with that and schoolwork, and has little time for anything else except playing the piano (classical) which she does little because of time.

She described almost no activities other than school and the research job which she did or enjoyed or thought about. She was remarkably unthoughtful about her high school, her fellow students, and herself. She asked several rather silly questions about Yale, probably because she wanted to say something and had thought about them beforehand. Needless to say, I was very unimpressed.

A solid, helpful “5”

NORA

Nora chooses her words deliberately and with great care. She strikes me, all around, as a thoughtful young woman. It took her some time to warm up to the situation, to be able to articulate her thoughts (which revealed a well-informed and deeply-feeling person). Analyzing her summer experiences (with a renowned choral group of which she is the youngest member), citing curiosity and respect for others quite different in upbringing and outlook from herself. She seemed to be concerned with various definitions of non-conformity in each social situation. When asked which of her accomplishments made her most proud, she pointed to the challenges of the crew team, and her decision to stick with it for 3 years!

Her interests range from international politics to the fine arts. She spoke knowledgeably of current world affairs and of “journalism vs. scholarship” in the “true” understanding of politics (i.e. being behind-the-scenes in Afghanistan vs. researching history and government documents). She is keenly interested in the art major and seemed impressed by Yale’s autonomous excellence in art, history and “non-major” foreign languages. Her questions about Yale were - for a change - intelligent and well-thought out.

I do not know if Nora’s initial diffidence was a result of insecurity, nervousness, or simply an expression of a gentle soul seeking the right words before speaking. Since there are so many questions, I would like to see her whole portfolio! She impressed me, on the whole, as a truly interesting candidate: a strong 5.

A well documented “7”

JONATHAN

Jonathan was great. He is mature, intelligent, sociable, dynamic, and extremely passionate about a number of different things.

Impressed is too unsubstantial a word for my reaction to my conversation with Jonathan. Around every turn, his interests and knowledge seemed to grow and grow. First, we talked about his high school and his job as Editor in Chief of the Yearbook. Jonathan talked excitedly about his new innovations, including a three-dimensional page in the middle. Our conversation then turned to his love of science and engineering. Jonathan leads his nationally ranked science Olympiad team. When he explained all the events he has done, I was impressed by the depth of his commitment and his enthusiasm. “Making self-propelled cars that stop and gadgets to pop balloons,” he said. “It is just so challenging and so rewarding.” I could definitely see Jonathan as a serious engineering student. His love for science is also playful. This past summer, Jonathan worked as a tour guide and an exhibit worker at a hands- on science museum. “We would make stuff like Dirt Pie,” he said with a big smile. Jonathan loved this experience so much, he is definitely working there next summer.

But Jonathan does not want to go to an engineering school, because he has so many other passions. “I want to pursue engineering, but also be able to look at other subjects,” he said. One of these is photography. Jonathan has had his photographs exhibited at local art galleries and has worked as a professional photographer for a few companies. He was very articulate about photography as an art form. I won’t bore you with the details, but he knows his stuff.

Though in our conversation, I did not get a sense of his peer interactions, he was very comfortable in an interview setting. He seems very well rounded and articulate. Jonathan is an intellectual, an engineer, an artist, and an entrepreneur! Students like Jonathan are the reason this process exists. He will contribute to both academic and extracurricular life at Yale.

ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE IN CHICAGO Scott R. Williamson ‘80

Yale receives over 20,000 applications each year. More than 14,000 of these applicants are afforded an interview with a member of one of some 8,000 alumni volunteers who comprise Yale’s largest alumni organization, the Alumni Schools Committee (ASC). For the vast majority of the applicants, the interview with the ASC member is their first – and often only – inter-personal contact with Yale. It is an important contact, making each ASC member an ambassador of Yale.

I joined the ASC some 20 years ago, initially as a means to give back to the University. I soon found that I enjoyed interacting with the students, who are energetic, enthusiastic and engaged. Most have hopes, dreams and plans. It can be very rewarding to assist a young person in their college search process, and helping matriculate outstanding future Yale undergraduates. Speaking with the students also constantly reminds me that I, too, have the capacity to do whatever I want.

I also enjoy meeting ASC members. Anyone who is willing to volunteer time to Yale in the ASC program also is likely to be someone who can be active in the Yale community generally. Thus, I frequently recruit active ASC members to join the Yale Club of Chicago or the Association of Yale Alumni in an official capacity.

Other commentators to these pages have discussed the opportunities and benefits of participating as an ASC member, so this commentary will focus on nuts-and-bolts activities.

The Undergraduate Admissions Office at Yale coordinates the ASC program. Most alumni volunteers belong to a geographically-relevant ASC area, each of which is coordinated at the local level. These areas come in all shapes and sizes. They range from ASCs in less populous areas with only a few volunteers to ASCs in large metropolitan areas with a few dozen members.

The greater Chicago metropolitan area is home to the largest ASC in the Midwest, and is structured somewhat differently than most. More than 150 alumni who reside within roughly 90 minutes of downtown Chicago interview more than 600 of the 750 applicants from the Chicago area (we try to interview as many as possible). The Yale Club of Chicago has endeavored to have a coordinated effort. Thus, Chicago has divided up the metropolitan area into five official ASC areas each designed to handle between 100 and 200 interviews. Each of the five ASC areas is headed by a Director whose activities are coordinated through a single Chairman, who, in turn, is the main conduit for communication with the Admissions Office.

The job of a Chicago area ASC Director typically involves a commitment of 30-60 hours per year, plus discretionary activities. Most communication with the Admissions Office, the ASC Chairman and ASC interviewers is conducted via email, and some by telephone. The interview assignment and monitoring process also is electronic. ASC Directors are members of the Yale Club of Chicago board, and are invited to attend the bi-monthly board meetings.

The recruiting season is roughly September through April each year, with most of the activity concentrated between November and February.  September and October – the ASC Director attends college fairs and communicates with area committee members to ensure they are on board for the year.  October-November – early action interview season that deals with approximately 20 percent of the total number of applicants for the year; gets a little hectic around Thanksgiving (late November) when there is a rush to complete interviews by December 1

 December – relatively light commitment, assigning regular decision interviews  January-February – regular decision interview season that deals with approximately 80 percent of the applicants; gets hectic in February, since the Admissions Office seeks to have interview reports submitted by mid-month  March – conduct last-minute interviews as needed; the Admissions Office goes to “committee” starting the second week of March  April – learn admissions decisions on or about April 1; communicate results to committee members; organize and participate in a yield event; encourage admitted candidates to matriculate

Task-wise, the ASC Director ends up doing the following:  recruit new ASC members so that the average interview load is between 3-6 candidate interviews per ASC member  get new ASC members set up with the Admissions Office (1/2 hour each, sending the interviewers a welcome letter and communicating the contact information to the ASC Coordinator in New Haven)  assign interviews (approximately 1/2 hour per week mid October through end of February)  follow up on assigned interviews to ensure they have been completed and submitted to the Admissions Office (1/2 hour per week)  read interview reports submitted by ASC members and supply feedback as needed (1/2 hour per week)  attend college fairs – or recruit others to attend them (4 hours per fair, perhaps 3 fairs a year)  encourage admitted students to matriculate (2-4 hours)  communicate with ASC members and students, including responding to questions

As the ASC Chairman in Chicago, I do my best to stay abreast of college and admissions news and current events at Yale and a few of its peers. I try to anticipate trends and issues. The more I know about Yale and the college admissions process, the better I can serve Yale and college bound students.

I communicate regularly with the five ASC Directors and with the Admissions Officer with responsibility for recruiting from the State of Illinois. I write detailed reports on the ASC activities with analysis of the year’s recruiting that I present at the bi-monthly meetings of the Yale Club of Chicago’s Board of Directors, and I share local insights with the Admissions Office in New Haven.

A task that I take very seriously is trying to matriculate as many of the students that the Admissions Office admits as possible. There are two groups of students. First, are the three dozen or so Chicago area students that Yale admits in the early action process. These students have outstanding records and receive the good news in early December. I write and telephone each of them, congratulating them on their outstanding records, asking them whether they have any questions, and otherwise encouraging them to take the next step and matriculate to Yale. I also organize an event for the students to get together, such as a bowling party, where the young men and women relate well to their peers, and their enthusiasm is infectious.

Second, in the spring, Yale admits another three dozen or so Chicago area students from the regular decision pool. I contact each of these students as well. Then I organize a pizza party for all the students that Yale has admitted through its early and regular decision programs and their parents. At the pizza party, which also is attended by ASC members, there is no program. The students and parents get to meet one another, and can ask ASC members about Yale. To the extent that the ASC members informally learn about the concerns and intentions

of the students and their parents, we communicate those to the Admissions Officer with responsibility for the state.

I realize that ASC members can become frustrated by the fact that Yale admits less than 10 percent of the applicants to Yale. Nevertheless, I regularly communicate to our ASC Directors and ASC members that the ASC effort is important and valued by Yale, and I can do it because I believe it.

ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE IN CINCINNATI Barbara Wagner ‘73

There are approximately 275 alumni schools committees which are affiliated with the admissions office and, usually, loosely affiliated with local Yale alumni associations. The role of alumni schools committees is threefold: The primary purpose is to conduct interviews of high school seniors who are applying to Yale from the particular geographic area and submit a brief report to the Admissions Office; in the process, the interviewer can answer the student’s questions about Yale. ASC’s are also involved in making contact with students from the area who may be potential applicants to Yale and providing them with information about Yale and, after admissions decisions are announced, to contact admitted students and answer questions as they make the decision of whether to attend Yale. Only approximately 75% of applicants to Yale actually have the opportunity to have an alumni interview due to a lack of sufficient alumni interviewers in some locations. Therefore, the alumni interview is not a mandatory part of the application, but generally seen as helpful if it can be arranged.

In the Cincinnati area, we currently have approximately 35 interviewers, all alumni of Yale College. We have approximately one-hundred applicants each year. There are approximately one-hundred-thirty secondary schools in the area, although the majority of applicants to Yale come from approximately twenty-five schools.

My first interviewing was the year after I graduated from college; I conducted 2 or 3 interviews that spring. I then lived in several areas where there were either no ASCs or the ASCs did not need new interviewers. When I moved to Cincinnati in 1987 and made contact with the Cincinnati Yale Club, I volunteered to do interviewing and I have been involved in ASC work since then. Note that when I started my involvement, my children were 1 and 4; they are now 24 and 27. As a result of my ASC involvement, when my children were in high school, I realized that I knew as much about high schools in Cincinnati as someone who had grown up here.

I am currently director of the Cincinnati area ASC. This is a role which I have held since 1990. This means that I coordinate the activities of the committee throughout the school year. I respond to requests from schools to arrange volunteers to attend college fairs in the fall, coordinate interviews (and follow up with interviewers who are late in completing their interviews), and follow up with students after admissions decisions are announced. During the course of a year, I field a variety of questions from students, parents, high school counselors, and interviewers. I also see my role as making the process as seamless and user-friendly as possible for the participating alumni – answer their questions, encourage their efforts without browbeating. Once you know the basic responsibilities, there is a lot of room for creativity and flexibility to carry out the role.

I enjoy ASC work for a variety of reasons. Partly, it has a much more human touch than what I do in my “day job;” partly I’m really my own boss and have some room to fulfill the responsibilities as I see fit; partly I think I’m pretty good at it, and have good instincts at solving the issues that arise; and finally I’m particularly gratified when I participate in recruiting a student who might not otherwise have applied to or chosen to attend Yale.

For alumni generally, this is an opportunity to get involved in giving back to Yale; some interviewers get involved when they have children in high school in order to understand the admissions process. One of the reasons that participation in these activities appeals to many alumni is that they can discharge their responsibilities solely on their time. For example, there is no obligation to attend meetings (other than interviews set up at the convenience of interviewer and applicant) and writing up interviews can be done at any time of day or night. Most of the ASC members spend significant time drafting a well-written report about their

interviews. In addition, most of the interviewers have very fond memories of Yale and they really enjoy sharing their recollections and why their Yale education has been meaningful to them.

The direct benefit of the interview reports is marginal. The admissions office admits that in the great majority of cases, the student’s file is so strong or so weak that the interview report will not sway the decision, but in about 10-20 percent of cases, interviewer observations can be very helpful positively or negatively. Moreover, since Yale is not in a position to guarantee an interview to every student, the admissions office cannot accord too much weight to the interviews which are conducted. But I believe it helps to have a significant number of alumni familiar with the competitiveness of Yale admissions, so that they can commiserate with friends and classmates who have children who have not been admitted.

However, the ASC program permits alumni to get involved and feel helpful. Over 8,000 alumni participate in ASC interviewing throughout the world – more than any other alumni activity. The ASC program is a great opportunity for alumni to first get involved with Yale in their alumni capacity with various levels of commitment and great time flexibility (e.g., how many interviews they conduct). The best interviewers are frequently those who have most recently graduated from Yale; they are usually very enthusiastic about interviewing and they are the experts, in that they are most familiar with Yale today. So they can be strong contributors without the typical tag of “not enough experience.” Due to my close working relationship with the board of the Cincinnati Yale Club, every year when the club is seeking new officers or board members, I am in a position to recommend interviewers who have been enthusiastic and conscientious. Many of my interviewers have moved on to broader alumni participation and activities.

Ironically, the biggest challenge to the interview process is Yale’s popularity with potential students. The number of applicants to Yale has increased significantly in the past 10 years, and will probably continue to increase for several years (due to population demographics, the increase in the number of college applications submitted by each student, and Yale’s new financial aid policy, which will encourage more students of limited financial means to apply). The result is that an increasingly small percent of applicants are admitted (currently around 7%). For interviewers, there are two consequences. First, they may interview 3-4 students a year for several years until they have one successful candidate. This discourages them from interviewing. At the same time, as the number of applicants increases, it becomes more difficult to conduct all the interviews. In addition, as Yale’s popularity has increased in recent years, a higher percentage of admitted students have accepted the offer to attend, which means that even fewer offers can be extended.

The biggest opportunities in this area are trying to ensure that Yale continues to attract the most diverse and talented student body possible. The ability to make a Yale education available to the most qualified students based on their intellectual curiosity and not on their family income is a fascinating challenge. For me, the greatest satisfaction in this work is not when a wealthy student who goes to a private school in the Cincinnati area is admitted to Yale but when a student is admitted who goes to a school from which no one has ever been admitted to Yale before, or a student is admitted from a family from which no one has ever even gone to college. Although these are few and far between, they are the students where it is most rewarding to be successful in helping them not only through the application and admission process but in many cases in continuing to offer advice and mentoring in their first few years at Yale.

The other opportunity is cross-fertilization between alumni schools committees, which are most closely affiliated with the admissions office, and other AYA activities. While I don’t believe that alumni schools committees and local Yale associations directly coordinate in all

locations, that has been one of the most useful collaborations we have had in Cincinnati. Not only does this encourage alumni to become involved in other alumni activities, it also gives undergraduate students exposure to the benefits and opportunities of alumni associations, hopefully leading to active alumni participation when they graduate.

ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE IN FRESNO, CA Tammy Lau ‘90

Why do I volunteer to interview prospective students for the Yale Alumni Schools Committee? Because I was once a young student full of aspirations and hope and when Yale offered me a place in the freshman class for the fall of 1986, it started me on a journey I’m still on today. It’s been twenty-two years since I was a high school senior but I clearly remember how nervous I was as I walked in for my interview. Uppermost in my mind was the thought that if I blow this, my entire life will be ruined (believing this with a fervency that only the young can have).

Having no idea what to expect, I was completely disarmed by the fact that my interviewer casually plopped into his chair and offered me a soda. After my polite refusal, he popped open a can for himself and I thought, wow, he seems so “normal,” not like some stiff, aristocratic genius (as we all know the stereotype to be). I steeled myself for the battery of questions that I felt he was sure to grill me about (my grades, SAT scores, my AP classes, and my extracurricular activities) but instead he started out by telling me a little about himself. Not much older than me, he had attended a public high school near mine and then pulled out a picture of himself then and laughed as I stared at it in astonishment that this was the same person! Sitting before me was a poised, well-dressed professional and in the picture was a chubby, pimply teenager. The picture resonated with my every teenage insecurity and the difference was nothing short of dramatic. He explained that he sort of grew into himself in college (and discovered water polo as an intramural sport!).

By that time, we were both laughing and I started to relax, thinking this isn’t so bad. But enough about me, he says, tell me about you and why you want to go to Yale and by the way, ask me anything you want because if I don’t know something, I can find out for you. We had a nice, free-flowing, interesting conversation and I almost forgot I was in an interview. Never once did he ask me about my grades, the percentile I scored in on my SATs or any of that. Mostly he just wanted to know who I really was and what motivates me. I felt I could be myself with him as he put me completely at ease and seemed genuinely interested in me as a person.

That experience had a profound effect on me because in contrast to all of my other college interviews, this is the only one where I felt I did not have to impress the interviewer and go on about my achievements. My interviewer was exactly the kind of person I would want as a classmate, a friend and I never forgot that. I thought I had been extremely fortunate to have been assigned such a congenial interviewer. It was only after I got to Yale that I learned all of my classmates had had the same kind of interview, in marked contrast to other experiences. In that moment, my certainty that Yale was the right college for me became absolute.

So why do I volunteer for Yale? Because Yale is more than a name and its civic ethic is not just a slogan. Because they believed in me when they sent me that acceptance letter all those years ago and have never let me forget that I “belong.” But mostly because I am inspired by the example of my own interview and I want to give the next generation of students the benefit of that kind of experience. I live in an economically disadvantaged region of California where most students are not encouraged to seek higher education, much less at the Ivy League level. My role is to give at least some of these students a glimpse of what is possible. I am proudest of the fact that Yale offers need-blind admissions because talent and potential have nothing to do with socioeconomic level. I can only hope that I offer these students some measure of the same grace that my interviewer showed me. My part is just a small contribution to the admissions process but whatever the decision, I know it matters, for them and for me. It matters a lot.

ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE IN GEORGIA Gregory L. Fullerton (B.A. '72)

My wife Carol and I live in a town of about 100,000 residents in the middle of the rural southwest corner of the State of Georgia, with the Atlantic Ocean 150 miles to the east and the Gulf of Mexico 150 miles to the south. Our home is 40 miles south of President Jimmy Carter's home of Plains and 1100 miles south-southeast of the Yale campus. In our area of the U.S., few high school students have much contact with colleges outside of Georgia, much less the Southeastern United States, and as a group they have very little knowledge about Yale, or for that matter, other major national universities in the Ivy League or elsewhere.

Our local alumni group has been in existence for about thirty years with a membership of from two to six Yale grads (including those of the graduate schools) at any one time. I thought it might be helpful to focus on what a small group like ours, far from our university's campus and its sports events, lecturers, libraries and ivy towers, can do to be helpful to our alma mater.

Our primary focus has been on encouraging promising high school students to broaden their college options and consider applying to a college like Yale. Prior to our efforts, Yale College was receiving about one application every two to three years from our area. Yale is now receiving an average of 6 to 10 undergraduate applications a year, a statistic we hope we have influenced. To put things in perspective, the greater Atlanta area produces well in excess of 200 applications a year, and I dare not say how many high school seniors from the New York City area apply to Yale every year. But, in our very modest way, we hope to have made a difference, producing about two new Yale students per year on average.

How, you might ask? Well, we view our task somewhat as missionary work, spreading the name of Yale among a population of high school juniors and seniors who likely will have had no previous contact with Yale or any other national university seeking the best and brightest among U.S. high school seniors. We have formed our own Alumni Schools Committee which tries to promote applications to Yale every year. We host a "Yale School night" every fall, generally at my home, in which about 100 students are invited to come and hear information about Yale and its application process, usually with an Admissions officer from Yale present. We also arrange for the Yale admissions officer to be interviewed live on our local television station, both during our noon day talk show and for the evening news. The television station broadcast range covers southwest Georgia. We sponsor about 15 Yale Book Awards every year at area high schools that have had successful Yale matriculants during the last several years. These books are given to a rising senior at each school who exemplifies "outstanding personal character and intellectual promise." The books are awarded at each high school's honors program, generally by a Yale alumnus, and the presentation gives Yale a little more visibility among students (and their parents) who otherwise would have not had any contact with the school. We also issue a press release to eight area newspapers about each year's group of Yale Book Award recipients. We have also sponsored live evening concerts in Albany every other winter with the Yale Whiffenpoofs, an a capella men's singing group of about 14 Yale singers who perform before an audience of several hundred. High school students who may be interested in Yale are given complimentary tickets. We then host a post- concert reception for the Whiffenpoofs and, among others, invite high school students who may be interested in applying to Yale to come ask questions of the Whiffs about their college experiences. The Whiffenpoofs also sing live on our local television where they are interviewed about their studies, majors, etc. Further, we arrange for the Whiffenpoofs to conduct a concert at a different area high school each year. All of these events have the effect of increasing awareness of Yale in the local area.

Our Alumni Schools Committee also tries to conduct an interview with every applicant to Yale and submit a report on each interview to New Haven. Once Yale has made its admissions decisions, we then try to follow up with admitted students to see if they need any additional information, encourage them to attend a special event in New Haven for admitted students and otherwise try to answer any financial aid or other questions they may have about Yale in as low key a manner as possible. Lastly, we try to keep track of our area matriculants who are attending Yale in order to maintain a program of mutual support, both for them during their college studies and summers off, and for us in our own recruiting efforts and interaction with possible Yale applicants, accepted candidates and future matriculants.

Besides these local activities, members of our alumni group maintain an assortment of other relationships with Yale and its affiliated groups. I, for one, participate in Yale Club of Atlanta activities as well as capital and annual fundraising and reunion events for my Yale College Class of 1972. I also have ongoing ties with various Yale special interest alumni groups -- the Yale fencing team, the Yale Daily News (our college paper), Dwight Hall (a conglomerate of community action groups at Yale), a couple of senior year groups, the AYA, etc. Given the distance form New Haven, it is difficult to participate in events on the Yale campus; but our southwest Georgia alumni "association," in its very small way, tries to keep our links to Mother Yale warm and vibrant and to help open her doors to future generations.

ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE IN PHILADELPHIA AND SAN FRANCISCO J. Kirk Casselman ’68

On graduating from law school, I said to myself, "Well, that was awful. I was really lucky to have stumbled onto Yale for my undergraduate education. Students should know about Yale before they apply to colleges." And stumble onto Yale I did, on a grand tour of New England colleges when I was a junior in high school, interviewing at a dozen campuses. The welcoming sense of community at Yale was obvious from first conversation to acceptance letter and throughout my four years in New Haven. This concern for others and the quality of their undergraduate experience was the primary motivation for my 15 years participation in the work of the Alumni Schools Committees, interviewing applicants for Yale. Fully 80% of the Yale applicants receive a one-on-one interview with an alumnus as part of their admissions portfolio and I viewed the ASC interview as an opportunity to explain the sense of community I felt on the Yale campus. Law school lacked that sense of community, whether because it was a commuter school in New York City or because of its intense professional orientation. Many other alumni felt the same way and tended to dedicate long periods of time to ASC work, usually interviewing over a period of 10 to 15 years. ASC work brought alumni together in a focused effort that was not seen in local Yale Clubs. Periodic seminars in New Haven conducted by the Admissions Office brought alumni together and involve them in the admissions process. ASC work seemed to be the best response to the admonition heard in freshman year, "You've been given a lot and now you have to give something back." In 1989, I joined the Association of Yale Alumni and established the Alumni Schools Network, which consisted of those members of an Alumni Schools Committee most capable, by personality or predilection, of visiting high schools in September and October and talking to students about Yale before the year-end application deadline. This was not intended to recruit additional applicants, but rather to inform high school students about Yale and the quality of the Yale undergraduate experience so that they could make informed judgments about where to apply.

ALUMNI SCHOOLS COMMITTEE IN WEST TEXAS Neal R Allen ‘55

Since graduating from Yale in 1955, I have been pleased to carry on what I believe to be a grand tradition: the attempt to obtain the best candidates for admission from this area. When I began thinking about my own choice of a college, I was encouraged to apply to Yale by a very active and involved alumnus (Yale Class of 1910!) in my home town of Amarillo, Texas. Wonder of wonders, two other young men from my high school and I were admitted and entered the freshman class in 1951. We all graduated four years later with marvelous educations, broadening experiences, and many good friends.

After law school and short stints as Texas Assistant Attorney General and in the Army, I returned to Amarillo to practice law. By then Yale had formalized what it called “Alumni Schools Committees” in different parts of the country, and I was asked to join the one in the Amarillo area (I later became Chairman). Over the next 23 years, our little committee was successful in placing students in Yale freshman classes almost every year. It was a joy to see these young men (and later, women), most of whom had never considered going there, go off to become “Yalies” and grow and develop there somewhat similar to our own experiences.

In 1982 my wife and I moved to Midland, Texas, where I joined a large law firm. I met several Yale graduates in Midland, but none had started an Alumni Schools Committee or done formal admissions work. No doubt due to my experience in Amarillo, I was asked by the powers that be in New Haven to start an ASC for Midland, which I did. For a while, I was a “Committee of One”, but since then I have had one or two other Yale graduates join the Committee and participate in its work. For a very small Committee, we have done quite well here too. For example, this year we interviewed seven candidates, and only got one admitted. But this was an outstanding young man—Valedictorian of his high school class of about 800, President of the Senior Class, Captain of the football team, etc. Even in Yale’s extremely competitive atmosphere, I am sure he will do well. Of course we would like to have had more make the grade, but as I tell my Committee members, we’re looking for quality over quantity.

Admissions at Yale are necessarily very selective. This is largely because, as a private university, it can only accept a limited number of applicants each year (approximately 8 or 9% currently). My Committee and I have been disappointed many more times than we have been elated when a young man or woman we have interviewed and recommended is notified whether or not he or she has made the grade. Still, we feel that in helping these young people who do gain admission, we are carrying on the work that the 1910 alumnus who interviewed me, as well as preceding and succeeding generations of Yale graduates, have labored in the vineyard to do.

GLOBAL ALUMNI LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE Kathy Edersheim ‘87

My greatest time commitment to volunteering for Yale has been my participation in the “governance” of the Yale Club of New York City so I have written about that separately. This case study will present a brand new effort that has the potential to bring greater worldwide recognition to Yale and create a lasting legacy of friendship and enhanced international understanding: Global Alumni Leadership Exchange.

The concept of a Global Alumni Leadership Exchange, in which active and interested alumni from Yale (or another University) visit alumni from another University in the home city, was introduced in 2007 with the hope of organizing the first program in 2008. In the broadest terms, the mission of the program is cultural exchange and sharing traditions among alumni representatives of the two Universities. The hope and expectation are that the program will benefit the participating Universities by raising awareness and respect for each other through this close interaction and alumni will learn about new ideas in an area of specialty of the other University. In addition, as alumni participate in the programs, they will be representing their University and will feel a greater connection to their alma mater. On a personal level, the shared experience of the travel and the many events will create many new friendships across the continents.

The inaugural program in which the Australian National University and its alumni have invited Yale University alumni to Australia has a focus on alumni relations as practiced at Yale and on environmental issues as researched at ANU.

My involvement with the program began at a meeting of the Board of Governors of the AYA. When the possibility of the exchange was mentioned, I was intrigued by the concept of a new and special type of travel opportunity that would bring alumni together and the possibility of visiting Australia! I have always treasured my memories of the camaraderie and shared experiences that happen at Yale and other Universities during the college years. Since graduating, I have enjoyed meeting and spending time with Yale alumni through AYA activities and through my involvement at the Yale Club of NYC. Traveling with Yale alumni seemed to offer an opportunity to re-create some of the best elements of both the college experience and the on-going alumni interaction when there is intellectual exchange in a structured setting and also on a casual and spontaneous basis. The Leadership Exchange Program would be an expanded concept on the student experience abroad combined with a college dining hall shared not just with fellow alumni but with their families and, of course, similarly interested alumni from another University.

My original thought was to be part of a task force that would help develop the concept for the trip but, as it became apparent that an Executive Producer was necessary, I took on that role. As the Executive Producer, I have been intimately involved in all aspects of the trip from brainstorming, to organizing, to communicating with the travelers and working closely with the people at ANU. It has been an extremely interesting, challenging and rewarding experience as I have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people and hope to see over 55 travelers and many hosts find the program to be an amazing, enlightening, productive and rewarding experience as well. Bringing people together in this new and special way is strong motivation to be a part of the creation and perpetuation of this program. I hope to help this program grow to include other Universities over the next few years.

As with any new program, there is a great deal to be learned from the experience. Still in the organization phase of the program, we already realize that the program requires significant commitment and resources from the participating Universities and/or alumni. With over 100 participants on two (or more) continents, the logistics are challenging. Also, each exchange

will be unique and will need to be adapted to the participating Universities and to the location. Many exchanges may face a language barrier as well as the complications of time differences and cultural differences. That said, these issues mean that an alumni exchange could be that much more interesting and meaningful to the participants who have so much to learn and understand about each other’s cultures. Even limiting the program to the Universities that are part of I.A.R.U., there are many types of alumni exchange programs including cultural exchange as well as classroom based programs that can be developed over the next few years. I hope to be a part of them.

SHARED INTEREST GROUPS

Through its many programs and services, the AYA provides opportunities for alumni to connect and reconnect to the University, serves as a channel of communication between alumni and the University, and promotes support of many types for the University. This work is accomplished through the traditional building blocks of clubs, classes, and graduate and professional school alumni associations, as well as through affiliations created through shared interests. Such interests may stem from student activities or associations such as a sport or a performance group while at Yale, or through a common vocation or avocation such as theater or real estate. These alumni connections complement the work of clubs, classes, and graduate and professional alumni associations.

THE YALE ALUMNI CHORUS Ann and Michael Moore ‘62

YAC is an organization of alumni and friends who love to sing, to perform and share our music with others, to travel, and to do humanitarian work during our travels. The Chorus is supported by the Yale Alumni Chorus Foundation whose mission is to promote harmony through choral music. We do this through performance, education, promotion of international choral events, and by encouraging the creation of new choral works. In addition, the Foundation develops and funds creative musical outreach programs to enrich people’s lives.

The Chorus was created in 1988 and made its first tour to China. Friends who participated in it spoke so enthusiastically about the experience that we were prompted to join for the next tour to Wales, Russia and England. What a glorious addition to activities of our life: performing in an annual arts festival in Wales; visiting the birthplace of Elihu Yale in Wexford in celebration of Yale’s Terentennial; celebrating St Petersburgs bicentennial in their Light Nights festival with a performance in the Mariinsky Theatre; joining the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in Moscow and the London Philharmonic at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. It was a feast of extraordinary experiences not to be missed. And, so we joined and have traveled on most Chorus trips since.

We have gone to Brazil, Argentine and Chile, South Africa, Guatemala, Mexico and, most recently, Cuba. In addition to unusual opportunities to sing with major orchestras, we have enjoyed opportunities to sing with community choirs and, through them, extend outreach and resources to less advantaged communities and organizations. We have found great fulfillment in our participation in the chorus. It has nurtured our love of singing, it has fostered great friendships with fellow singers, and it has provided us with opportunities to know and work with people of very different backgrounds and lifestyles.

YAC makes a significant contribution to Yale as Ambassadors of Song. We bring the name and presence of Yale to places in the world that previously had little or no awareness of it.

Intrinsically, we reinforce a keener connection and bond of our members to the University. Sharing a tour for 1 or 2 weeks is a profound experience that strengthens the loyalty and affection of all of the participants to one another and, by inference, to Yale.

The biggest challenge to YAC is finding the means to sustain projects and activities that we have initiated in our travels. For example, we helped create a children’s chorus in a favela in Rio de Janeiro and are gradually reducing our financial support of that chorus as it finds means of local support. We enabled a Guatemalan NGO to initiate a choral festival of childrens’ choirs in a Mayan village outside of Antigua. They, too, are gradually becoming financially independent.

THE YALE DAILY NEWS FOUNDATION Jonathan Rose ‘63

The Yale Daily News Foundation, or as it is sometimes called, the "Oldest College Daily" Foundation has existed since the mid -1970's. The Yale Daily News was founded in 1878, and we think of ourselves as the oldest daily college newspaper in the United States. For all of that time it has been run by students of Yale College, free from financial support or editorial censorship by the University. At times the relationship has its tensions, but the university leaders have always believed in Yale's having its own "free press". Even at the cost of some occasional pain.

For nearly 100 years the paper existed through subscriptions from its readers and revenue from its advertisers. In one major gift, the building which houses the “News” was donated by Yale News alumnus Henry Luce, Y'20, in memory of his classmate Britton Haddon, Y'20, who was chairman of the newspaper their senior year. In 1922 together they had both founded TIME magazine of which Luce became the editor and publisher after Haddon's untimely death in 1927.

By the mid-1970's the News building was in disrepair and the institution had retirement obligations to two long time employees. The cigarette companies were forced to discontinue their advertising in collegiate publications, and other ad and subscription revenues were insufficient to meet the News' mounting financial obligations.

My undergraduate years had been spent spent primarily working for the News of which I eventually became the chairman my senior year in 1963. During the time of my service on the News in the 60's, we had a fairly star-studded cast of Yalies who would go on to prominent roles in their fields, including New York Times reporters, Robert Semple and William Borders, Washington Post editor, Robert Kaiser, presidential adviser David Gergen, and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.

Thus,, in the 70's when the News experienced its series of heavy financial obligations, it was natural enough for me to join with other alumni such as Bill Donaldson, Jim Ottaway, Joe Lieberman and others in an effort to preserve the financial independence of the News, through establishing a tax-exempt foundation which would accept donations from Yale alumni and other private sources. We all shared the view that the financial and administrative independence of the newspaper from the university had permitted a freedom and integrity of reporting which had been central to our News experiences.

The establishment of the OCD Foundation led to the creation of a tradition of each senior board of the News contributing its profits from the current year (in good years) to the foundation which permitted the paper to abandon charging undergraduates for subscriptions and permitted the purchase of highly expensive equipment in an increasingly capital intensive business. Investing the endowment in a manner similar to the Yale Endowment has given the paper welcome security in turbulent economic times such as the one we are currently experiencing.

In 2003, we celebrated the 125th birthday of the Yale Daily News with a banquet on campus with over 600 attendees. I was proud to have my wife and son among them, even though my son, Y'04, had completely eschewed the newspaper in favor of participating in Yale's lightweight crew. According to the then AYA director, the degree of alumni participation illustrated by the banquet attendance sparked the AYA’s interest in extracurricular affinity groups like the News as yet another way to preserve and extend the undergraduate ties which bind its graduates to the school.

In addition to service as chair of the OCD Foundation, I am beginning my second tour as the class of 1963’s representative to the AYA. In my previous tour I also served a term on the AYA’s board of governors. In these various capacities I have had the opportunity to come to know some exceptional Yale alumni and to learn more about one of the United States most impressive centers of higher education.

On this trip I am looking forward very much to making some new friends in Japan—a country which I have visited only twice before. I am also very interested in learning all I can about the Japanese system of higher education and whether it offers applicable lessons for our own system. Finally, on a personal note, I hope to be able to find a few spare hours in Tokyo to catch up with some of my friends in the Tokyo office of our law firm.

YALE GLEE CLUB ASSOCIATES (YGCA) Marvin Berenblum ‘56

YGCA's primary mission is to support the activities of the Yale Glee Club (YGC), an undergraduate choral group of approximately 80 singers (men and women) with a distinguished record of domestic and international choral performance. YGCA comprises almost 3,000 YGC alumni who are dedicated to ensuring that YGC continues to attract top talent, including an outstanding music director, a highly capable staff and extraordinary singers. YGCA also is very supportive of students who lack the financial resources to join their fellow singers on domestic and overseas concert tours in some of the world's finest concert halls.

The Yale Glee Club will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2011. YGCA is organizing a year-long series of musical events to commemorate this special occasion. Included will be a YGC domestic tour of major American cities, and a concert tour in Europe - part of which will entail joint concerts with the Yale Alumni Chorus, approximately 200 singers who are principally alumni of YGC. YGCA also will be supporting the composition of a significant choral work to be performed by YGC. Finally, YGCA is arranging for the production of a documentary film which will trace the history of YGC, as well as the preparation of a commemorative publication.

YGCA members enjoy an annual singing dinner, during which the senior class of YGC is welcomed into active YGCA membership upon graduation. Obviously, the annual singing dinner being planned for the 150th reunion will be quite an extravaganza with a focus on the music of the various periods in the history of YGC.

YGCA keeps its members in close touch with upcoming events through the regular publication of its on-line newsletter, "Fol de Rol." Additionally, YGCA organizes weekend singing symposia which attract alumni singers from across the country.

YGCA is served by a highly dedicated board of approximately 20 YGC alumni who are organized into committees to cover financial matters, communications issues, and governance, as well as planning and organizing annual singing dinners, 5-year reunions, and other significant events. Suffice it to say, the thousands of members of YGCA share in a common love of choral singing - both intrinsically and as an avenue for transcending cultural and political barriers around the world. Serving as an active member of YGCA is a demonstration of one's commitment to the rich tradition of the Yale Glee Club.

THE YALE VETERAN’S ASSOCIATION: A BEGINNING Frank Berall ’50, JD ‘55

In addition to my involvement with the Yale Club of Hartford, I have also served as an AYA delegate for a number of years, solicited for the Yale Alumni Fund for my Class of 1950’s 60th reunion and my Yale Law School Class of 1955’s 55th reunion. I am Class Secretary of the latter. As such I collect news from all my classmates and submit it for publication in the Yale Law Reporter. As a graduate of Yale’s field artillery ROTC, I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served ten months in combat in North Korea with the 160th Field Artillery Battalion of the 45th Infantry Division. Initially I was a forward observer and then the battalion reconnaissance and survey officer. My unit was located not very far from the British Commonwealth Division. Recently, I joined the newly established Yale Veterans Association, formed to present Yale veterans’ views. At first it was designed to encourage Yale to bring back ROTC, which had been expelled during the Vietnam War. Since Navy and Air Force ROTC units have now been reinstated by Yale, we would like to see an Army field artillery unit return. Yale had one from 1916 until the 1970s. It trained Yale undergraduates to become officers, even before America’s April 6, 1917, entry into World War I. There is a dedicated group that is working to create a program for this Shared Interest Group started in 2011.

WOMEN OF JE CLASS OF 1973 Barbara Wagner ‘73

The Women of JE Class of 1973 is both a group of friends who have stayed in touch since graduation and supported each other but are now seeking to support and give back both to the university and to current undergraduates. Jonathan Edwards is one of Yale’s 12 residential colleges. From 1969-73, there were approximately 20 women in the class of 1973 who were affiliated with JE.

I believe that being in the first co-ed class at Yale resulted, in my case, in making many more close friendships with women than I would have done under other circumstances. I know many women who believe that those early years of coeducation, and the fact that there were so few women at Yale, made it harder to get to know other women, but I believe that some of the challenges we faced as undergraduates created particularly strong bonds.

After graduating in 1973, the class of twenty women who had been in Jonathan Edwards College was fairly far-flung --- in a variety of graduate schools and jobs in several states and countries. However in 1980 there was a core group of women from the JE class of 1973 living in New York City. One of our classmates invited all of us to come to her apartment for a weekend sleepover; this included approximately eight women from New York City and New Jersey. We arrived Saturday afternoon, stayed overnight (talking into the wee hours) and left mid-afternoon Sunday. One woman brought her infant daughter on Sunday. We all slept on sleeping bags on the floor of the living room. The next year we got together again, this time a couple of women joined us from Boston. Over the next several years, we got together annually for a “sleepover” at someone’s house; this evolved into homes in suburban New York and, as we got older and more affluent, in many cases homes with enough beds that we could each sleep in a bed instead of on the floor. Some years we had more participants, some

years we had less; but with perhaps one or two exceptions I believe that at least three or four of us have gotten together every year since 1980. When I moved to Cincinnati, it became a bit more of a trek to go back to New York for a sleepover weekend, but I am committed to attending regularly.

The group is an interesting cross-section of women: we have one pediatrician, one accountant, one computer scientist, one lawyer, one former federal government official now involved in the non-profit world, one high school teacher, one college professor, one investment banker, one hospital administrator, one psychiatrist, and one commercial banker, but we get together to compare notes not only about what we are doing professionally but about how our lives are evolving: not only children, husbands, divorces, parents getting older, but also comparing notes about our experiences in our diverse workplaces, and our experiences with health issues. So far, this sounds like a group of friends, not an alumni activity, right?

In connection with our 35th college reunion, a couple of the women in this group thought it would be nice if we could generate a fund just from the women of the JE class of ’73. Our residential college, Jonathan Edwards, was being renovated and we thought we might be able to come up with funding to contribute to a particular component of the renovation. As we compared notes, we also decided that we’d like to contribute to more than bricks and mortar – do something involving undergraduates and some kind of mentoring or networking. Although the core group of people who got together for the sleepovers has ranged from four to fourteen, in connection with the fundraising effort, we reached out to all 23 of the JE women, including one who dropped out of school after her sophomore year to get married and another who had never been involved in alumni events; a few male classmates, including spouses of two of these women, also participated. After several phone calls and lots of follow up, we achieved contributions from all but one of the women; in total we collected over $100,000, which is the level required to provide “naming rights” at the University. Our contribution went to the renovation of one of the common rooms at JE, which has now been renamed the “JE Women of 73 Junior Common Room.” We believe this is the first major monument on campus to be named after Yale undergraduate alumnae.

Our fundraising effort was successful enough that it provided funding for some programs with undergraduates – we have held 3 Sunday evening series so far. One was a panel discussion about the early days of coeducation, one was a panel with a number of women feminists, including Gloria Steinem, and one on life choices – combining work and family. It’s unclear how this will evolve. Although it is just a subset of the normal reunion-related fund-raising, I see this development as a very small example of the direction the AYA is taking with special interest groups. While Yale has had class reunions for many years and many classes have mini reunions, we had never considered our yearly sleepovers to be a formalistic part of university programming. Rather they were strictly personal. At the same time, they reinforced our identity with Yale and with each other and strengthened our bonds. When it came time to do fundraising for our 35th reunion, there was a natural evolution when two women who were in a position to make significant contributions decided that they would rather do so with a group of their women classmates than individually or as part of a larger whole (the entire Class of 1973).

Currently, our biggest challenge is figuring out what kind of programming/mentoring we can provide that will be of interest and benefit to current undergraduates and at the same time rewarding for us to be involved in. An added challenge, although we hope we still have plenty of time to focus on this, is trying to create a program that will be self-perpetuating.

WISER (WOMEN’S INTERCOLLEGIATE SPORTS ENDOWMENT & RESOURCE) Susie Krentz, ‘80

The Women’s Intercollegiate Sports Endowment & Resource (WISER) is a dedicated to supporting women's varsity athletics at Yale University. WISER encompasses two complementary activities: an endowment and alumnae athlete connections. WISER is used to enhance the quality of training and competition for athletes across all 18 women's sports as well as to enhance opportunity and development for coaches. The resources from the endowment are also used to cultivate connections between and among current Yale women athletes and alumnae. WISER is the first general athletic endowment established by former Yale athletes. The endowment currently stands at $1 million. The goal now is to reach $5 million by 2015.

WISER was first conceptualized in 2002. It was an idea whose time had come, since several different alumnae of Yale’s sports teams identified a desire to make a meaningful impact on women’s athletics at the University. Barbara Chesler, Senior Associate Director of Varsity Sports at Yale, had dinner with a couple of former athletes where some ideas were bounced around. Simultaneously, I was in conversation with one of my volleyball teammates and the two of us wanted to think of something which could have a big and sustainable impact for all of Yale’s women’s athletic teams, not just the ones that we individually had played on. As a result, a core group of nine women who were former athletes at Yale formed a working group to develop and plan a fund raising campaign. These nine athletes represented 11 different women’s sports: basketball, crew, cross country, field hockey, gymnastics, lacrosse, squash, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball. WISER was publicly announced in January 2004 with a starting fund of $500,000 which was half of the initial $1 million goal.

I was involved from the very early stages of WISER’s conceptualization and development. I played both basketball and volleyball at Yale. While I supported both of these teams’ associations, it stuck me that there were some common issues facing these teams and likely all of the women’s teams. Unlike some of the male athletic teams that have a century or more of history, the women’s teams were primarily founded in the 1970s. Only now are these team’s alumnae reaching “middle age” and their more productive earning years. Additionally, there is variability in the financial position of the individual athletic associations. It seemed that an overarching endowment could provide funds to supplement the University budget and the individual team fund raising.

My role has included participating in fund raising – contacting other women athletes to let them know about the formation of WISER and to solicit funds. I have also actively participated in on-campus WISER connections events. For example, we held a WISER weekend where a group of athletic alumnae provided a panel followed by round tables with current women athletes. Over 150 student athletes met with former athletes to discuss important issues and concerns, like transitioning into the job market.

I had a wonderful time at Yale – and part of that experience was as a varsity athlete. I came a few years before there were recruited female athletes. In fact, the basketball coach my freshman year was the first full time coach for the women’s team. The volleyball team was a club sport my first year, and only became a varsity sport my sophomore year. I got involved with WISER because I believe that the alumnae of Yale's athletic teams can enhance the experience of today's athletes as competitors and in their lives after Yale by providing financial resources above and beyond what is currently provided by the University and by developing a network of engaged and supportive women who share a connection because of their athletic experience at Yale.

I believe that I will continue to provide financial support to help increase the size of the endowment, and will be active in encouraging others to contribute. I will also try to participate in the WISER Connections with other alumnae and current athletes.

“All those involved with the fund—from alumni donors to Yale administration to current female athletes—stress that the importance of women's athletics and the importance of establishing a strong legacy of women's athletics at Yale cannot be understated.” (Yale Herald, February 25, 2005)

The fund is already improving the quality of training and competition across all women’s sports. In the few years since it was started, funds from the WISER endowment have already supported:

. Out of area team travel . Alumnae speaker series for current athletes . Alumnae Connections (various weekend programs) . Technology videos for teams . Coaches going to NCAA coaching academy

In addition to the direct impact, there is some evidence that the establishment of WISER elevated the general awareness among female athletic alumnae about the “how big we should think when considering financial support.” A number of the individual athletic associations have received significant gifts ($100,000+) since the beginning of WISER’s efforts.

The initial focus was around fund raising, but that rapidly evolved to add the second “connections” focus. The women who have joined WISER have really enjoyed connecting with the current athletes and acting as advisors and mentors; it has also been great to connect with athletes from the varied Yale sports teams as alumni. It has created some new friendships and networking opportunities.

There are a number of challenges facing WISER at this point. We have made it through the critical start-up phase and achieved our original financial goal. However, we don’t want this to be viewed as finished. From an endowment perspective, we are setting our sights on a new goal: $5 million by 2015. We also want to keep the connections element vibrant. To achieve both of these, we need to be sure that WISER stays in the minds of our alumnae/alumni and create awareness about the fund and its accomplishments. It could be tempting to rest on our laurels, but we are probably at the point where we need to infuse some extra volunteer energy, supported by some key individuals from the athletic department. We also need to go beyond our original group and tap into new donors and participants.

With achievement of the $5 million endowment goal, the WISER fund will really be able to make significant contributions to support the caliber of women’s athletics at Yale. We have considered the possibility of a national Yale WISER award to someone who has had a significant positive impact on women’s athletics; we have dreams of providing our coaches with more tools to enhance the competitiveness of our teams; and we want our athletes to get leadership training and development that will help them in the field of competition and as Yale graduates contributing to the broader world. We can also support more robust points of connection between and among our athletes and alumnae through an expanded speaker series, forums, and other forms of community building.

100

BULLDOGS ON THE CUYAHOGA Ilona Emmerth ’98

The mission of the Bulldogs Across America program is to employ Yale students in meaningful internship positions, introduce these students to the assets and leadership of the local community, provide benefit to local employers and enhance the community as a whole. Louisville, Kentucky was the first city to create this kind of summer program, which has grown to six Bulldogs programs around the country.

Almost 10 years ago, I attended my first official Yale alumni activity: the Annual Dinner of the Yale Alumni Association of Cleveland. Having recently graduated from Yale and returned to my hometown, I was excited to enter a new chapter of life and learn more about this big Yale alumni network everyone talked about. I enjoyed the evening, but I couldn’t help but notice that most of my “peers” in attendance already had at least a few decades of experience as Yale alumni. In recent years, though, attendance at the Annual Dinner has reflected a transformation in our local alumni community.

The change began in 2003 when we welcomed 33 Yale undergraduates to Cleveland for the inauguration of a summer program we called “Bulldogs on the Cuyahoga.” Modeled on the successful effort, “Bulldogs in the Bluegrass,” that was launched in Louisville in 1999, our intent was to bring the students to our city for internships, civic engagement, and just plain fun. Perhaps, we hoped, this introduction to the professional and personal possibilities of Northeast Ohio would even encourage some of those talented young men and women to consider moving here after graduation.

Little did we know that the program would have such an impact on our community—and on us. In five years, more than 100 Bulldogs have come to Cleveland and benefited from the wisdom shared by scores of alumni, employers and other supporters from the community. Our alumni volunteers have forged new and often unexpected connections with each other and with the university. And the program has blossomed into a multi-institutional one—it is now called “Summer on the Cuyahoga” (SOTC)—that recently attracted 600 applicants and 70 participants from Yale, Case, Colgate, Cornell, Princeton, and Smith.

So far, more than 20 alumni of the expanded program have returned to the area to live and work. One of them is Gwendolyn McDay ’05, a Vermonter who was among the first Bulldogs. “SOTC showed me all that Cleveland has to offer—and there was plenty,” she observes. Those experiences and contacts she formed as an intern landed her a job as a coordinator for the Fund for Our Economic Future, a Cleveland-based group involved in helping to jumpstart the Northeast Ohio economy. Not only were we pleased to welcome this talented young woman to our local alumni community, but we are also proud that she was recently profiled as one the region’s young leaders in the Crain’s Cleveland Business “Twenty in Their 20s” feature.

While Gwendolyn is a prime example of the success of the Bulldogs mission, we alumni have gained from the Bulldogs experience, too. Because of our direct interaction with current students, Bulldogs provides a remarkable bridge to campus for alumni. In a recent discussion about this very topic, Mathew Beredo ’94, a Cleveland attorney who is currently the program’s vice president, noted that “we are part of the students’ educational and professional development through the jobs, mentorships, and events. This gives local alumni a chance to see Yale not as it existed when we graduated but as it exists now.”

101

Mathew also observed that the program creates a broader profile for Yale in the community. The University probably does not realize how distant and unknown it is in large parts of the country so each of the participating students and alumni becomes a Yale ambassador. The impact of Bulldogs has also been very personal. As one of the program founders, I have developed deep and rewarding friendships with the many other volunteers from Yale and the other SOTC schools. Our collaborations have caused each of us to be more actively involved in our community: reaching out to employers for internships, arranging community service days with the interns, and playing tour guide to the students who are with us for 10 weeks over the summer.

Now, as our Bulldogs interns and other young alumni attend our Annual Dinners, I hope they have a better sense about what being a Yale alum means. We demonstrate what life after Yale is like: how to balance a career with a family and volunteer commitments. We introduce them to our favorite parts of the city and to other friends in our networks. We provide career advice or explain how mortgages work. We demonstrate how Yale clubs and alumni activities can be an important part of their lives. We hope that these are things they take with them wherever they go upon graduation—even if it isn’t Cleveland.

It’s incredibly rewarding when the students recognize this. Senthu Arumugam’ 09, who is interning this summer for KeyBanc Capital Markets, recently observed that his job is “incredibly engaging, but more importantly, I’m building relationships with Yale alums that genuinely care about my well-being and success and are now my mentors and friends. Through their friendship and advice about their own careers, the challenges they faced, and how they overcame those challenges, I feel more prepared to take on the challenges I'll be facing post-graduation. I’m now looking forward to one day offering my own advice, support, and friendship to the Yalies of tomorrow."

102

BULLDOGS IN SAN FRANCISCO J. Kirk Casselman ’68

For many years, I was involved with the ASC as an interviewer and on the organizational side. This involvement with Yale, satisfying as it was, took a dramatic turn for the better in 2003. The Executive Director of the AYA (Jeff Brenzel) suggested I meet with Rowan Claypool, founder of Bulldogs in the Bluegrass, a program of internships for Yale students in Louisville, Kentucky. For the last 10 years, up to 25 Yale students have spent 10 week internships with a variety of employers, exploring career paths and sharing their experiences with each other while living together in a local dorm setting. Alumni provide weekend activities to familiarize the students with the region and alumni speakers provided weekly insights to their own career development. Rowan’s idea was compelling and I began immediately to form Bulldogs by the Bay, as a new site in San Francisco for the Bulldogs program. During the summer, we suggested to the students that it is common not to have settled on a career path by the time you graduate from college. We stressed the importance of doing what you love and that, if you have several different loves, you can combine them in a specialized career path that will be very satisfying. We hoped to impress on students that college is a time to push yourself in as many different directions as you have interest or talent. It is a time to learn how to live, not how to make a living. We let students know that the community developed at Yale continues into the alumni community and that there will be alumni willing to help in the development of their careers when the time comes. Working with students on their second major life decision (what to do after college) is even more exciting than working with them on their first major life decision (where to go college). Yale undergraduates are a very interesting group and it is gratifying to be of help to them in developing their career options. Likewise, the alumni who enjoy this task are also a very interesting group and the bonds developed among those alumni are strong. I myself have kept in touch with a number of students for years after their college days ended; some became business associates and all became friends. The Bulldogs program has tied me even more closely to the campus and the University administration. It has opened doors in my local community and enhanced my reputation in the community. Moreover, it has kept alive the spark of learning and that wonderful sense that the world is full of opportunities perennially open to the young. Additional Contribution to AYA Resource Book – Turkey Tour 2010 As an alumnus of Yale College, I have been involved with undergraduates at Yale during three distinct eras: 1) prior to Yale, when prospective undergraduates are applying to Yale, 2) at Yale, during the undergraduate's term in residence at Yale, and 3) after Yale, when the undergraduate enters the workforce. The following sections of this paper discuss the activities during each of these periods, focusing on my particular experiences with students. There is a clear continuum from era to era. Prior to Yale On graduating from law school, I said to myself, "Well, that was awful. I was really lucky to have stumbled onto Yale for my undergraduate education. Students should know about Yale before they apply to colleges." And stumble onto Yale I did, on a grand tour of New England colleges when I was a junior in high school, interviewing at a dozen campuses. The welcoming sense of community at Yale was obvious from first conversation to acceptance letter and throughout my four years in New Haven. This concern for others and the quality of their undergraduate experience was the primary motivation for my 15 years participation in the work of the Alumni Schools Committees, interviewing applicants for Yale. Fully 80% of the Yale applicants receive a one-on-one interview with an alumnus or alumna as part of their admissions portfolio and I viewed the ASC interview

103

as an opportunity to explain the sense of community I felt on the Yale campus. Law school lacked that sense of community, whether because it was a commuter school in New York City or because of its intense professional orientation. Many other alumni felt the same way and tended to dedicate long periods of time to ASC work, usually interviewing over a period of 10 to 15 years. ASC work brought alumni together in a focused effort that was not seen in local Yale Clubs. Periodic seminars in New Haven conducted by the Admissions Office brought alumni together and involved them in the admissions process. ASC work seemed to be the best response to the admonition heard in freshman year, "You've been given a lot and now you have to give something back." In 1989, I joined the Association of Yale Alumni and established the Alumni Schools Network, which consisted of those members of an Alumni Schools Committee most capable, by personality or predilection, of visiting high schools in September and October and talking to students about Yale before the year-end application deadline. This was not intended to recruit additional applicants, but rather to inform high school students about Yale and the quality of the Yale undergraduate experience so that they could make informed judgments about where to apply. This course, satisfying as it was, took a dramatic turn for the better in 2003. At Yale The Executive Director of the AYA suggested I meet with Rowan Claypool, founder of Bulldogs in the Bluegrass, a program of internships for Yale students in Louisville, Kentucky. He described a program, which ultimately has grown to nine cities in the US and known as Bulldogs Across America, in which up to 25 Yale students have 10 week internships with a variety of employers, exploring career paths and sharing their experiences with each other while living together in a local dorm setting. Alumni provide weekend activities to familiarize the students with the region and alumni speakers provide weekly insights to their own career development. Rowan’s idea was compelling and I subsequently formed Bulldogs by the Bay, as a new site in San Francisco for the Bulldogs program. During the summer, we suggest to the students in discussions on career development that it is common not to have settled on a career path by the time you graduate from college. We stress the importance of doing what you love and that, if you have several different loves, you can combine them in a specialized career path that will be very satisfying. We hope to impress on students that college is a time to push yourself in as many different directions as you have interest or talent. It is a time to learn how to live, not how to make a living. We let students know that the community developed at Yale continues into the alumni community and that there will be alumni willing to help in the development of their careers when the time comes. In 2007, my wife and I moved to Santa Fe New Mexico and there I established Bulldogs in Santa Fe. In 2009, the first year of operations of Bulldogs in Santa Fe, we had approximately 80 applications for 10 internships, twice the average for the Bulldogs program in general, making it one of the most popular destinations for Yale students interested in the Bulldogs program. After Yale The Bulldogs program provides significant benefit to the City of Santa Fe, as well as to participating employers, by attracting interns to permanent jobs after graduation. In a study commissioned by the City, it was recommended that, in order to promote economic development, the City should upgrade its workforce and, in particular, attract young people to the City. One of the Bulldogs in Santa Fe 2009, a History of Medicine major at Yale, has, at the end of her internship, discussed the possibility of a permanent job offer from CHRISTUS St. Vincent Hospital, starting after her graduation in June 2010. Evidently, the program is already beginning to work. The Bulldogs Across America program has shown remarkable success in this effort. Approximately 15% of the 335 students who have participated in Bulldogs in the Bluegrass over a ten-year period have settled after graduation in Louisville, Kentucky, where no alumni under the age of 35 resided prior to the program. Similarly, 48 students have settled in Cleveland, Ohio as a result of their Bulldog experience. We expect similar results in Santa Fe.

104

We know of no other organizations or effort as focused on bringing high quality employees to Santa Fe. If Bulldogs in Santa Fe did not exist, organizations in Santa Fe would have to do their own recruiting to attract similar potential employees. This would put extraordinary burdens in the form of management time and expense on the organizations to travel and market their positions to students, an inefficient way to upgrade the workforce in Santa Fe. Furthermore, if Bulldogs in Santa Fe did not exist, information about Yale would not circulate as readily among high school students in Santa Fe and opportunities for many of them to apply to Yale would be lost.

105

BRANFORD COLLEGE FELLOWSHIP Amber Edwards ‘82

Although I served a five year term as Class Secretary, which was mostly a job of reporting-- and soliciting--information for the alumni magazine, my most fulfilling alumni activity has been the Branford College Fellowship, a program that brings together a diverse group of alumni and members of the community in affiliation with one of the twelve residential colleges.

No doubt each fellowship is different, and largely driven by the personality and philosophy of the College Master; but my Branford experience has been a joy. (And I wasn't even in Branford, but was in Timothy Dwight College!)

The Branford Fellowship, led with conviviality and generosity by Master Stephen Smith, is multi-generational, and includes people who work inside Yale as well as alumni and current students. It provides me with an understanding of the breadth and depth of the Yale community that I never had as a student, because I get to interact regularly with people who work, for example, in the library system; or in one of the graduate schools or the art gallery. They, in turn, get to regularly see people whose lives don't revolve around the university. We have, in our group, filmmakers (me), actors, novelists, designers, doctors, real estate developers, mixing it up with the academics.

The Fellowship meets twice a month during the school year, at the Master's Home, and there is usually a program of some sort--a guest speaker, or a gallery tour, or a concert. There is always a cocktail hour, and a buffet dinner. Over time, you get to know people in this friendly atmosphere, and--this is very important--spouses are welcomed and made to feel completely a part of the group. That, I believe, is one of the reasons this fellowship is so vital.

The multi-generational aspect is key, too. I remember our end of the semester celebration dinner at Mory's one year where our table consisted of an octogenarian and his wife (on her walker) who talked about being the first Jew at Yale Medical School (he taught psychiatry for years and is still Emeritus); my husband and I; a Yale Drama grad who is a working film and stage actor, probably about 50 years old; and the newest Fellow, a 20-something curator of decorative arts at the Yale Art Gallery. People who would never otherwise meet were having a ball, talking, laughing, and truly experiencing what is meant by "Fellowship".

106

EXTERNSHIPS Barbara Wagner ‘73

This program was offered by the AYA several years ago, but is no longer offered. This program provides opportunities for current undergraduate and/or graduate students to spend time shadowing an alumnus/a for one or two weeks during their spring break. It offers students the opportunity to get an idea of what the alum does on a daily basis, whether as a doctor, lawyer, architect or artist.

The AYA offered this program from the 1970’s until approximately 2000; many local Yale clubs are now offering similar programs.

The core of the program is for alumni to volunteer to let students shadow them, and for students to apply for various externship opportunities. In some cases, housing is provided, but usually students must find a way to live in the location. I know some externships sponsors have actually hosted the students in their home and one company used externships as a source of recruiting potential employees. The individual alumni were given the opportunity to choose from among the students who applied; in my case, for example, as a lawyer, I looked for students who did not have relatives or family friends who worked as lawyers, so that they could benefit the most from the opportunity.

One of my most rewarding externships was the year that I selected three externs, rather than just one, and found that I was able to spend more time and in a more meaningful way with the three of them than with just one. This is because very often one extern would ask a question that would start a conversation and the other externs would pursue it with different questions. During the week that they were with me, I would make a point of spending some time explaining to them some of the work I did, letting them watch me (e.g., taking them to meetings), coming up with some assignments where they actually had something to do by themselves and giving them an opportunity to review materials and files on non-confidential matters.

My motivation for hosting externs was to give students an opportunity to see what I do. When I was in college I had no dream of ever becoming a lawyer nor did I have much of a sense of what lawyers did, so it was rewarding to me to give students a small idea of one type of legal career. Also, since I know many lawyers who are very unhappy that they chose law as a career, I alert young people that it is important to spend time trying to understand what lawyers actually do. When I have an opportunity to explain and demonstrate to students what I do, even if they’re not sure they want to become lawyers, I feel that I am helping them get a much more realistic idea of this possible future career.

I believe that the alumni who participated thoroughly enjoyed the program. Even more important, the students enjoyed both getting the career perspectives and making contact with alumni, generally, in other words, it helps reinforce the idea of becoming active as alumni after graduation and giving back to the university. These programs are an excellent opportunity to engage alumni and serve students. Although some administrative work is involve, the externship program is a very easy type of program to replicate. It does not require a large financial commitment from alumni or from students, although the alumni must plan carefully how to keep the externs involved without getting bored.

107

CASE STUDIES

DWIGHT HALL AND BEYOND CONNECTING TO YALE, PAYING IT FORWARD, AND HEALING THE WORLD

Alan Cohen ’72 BS

Entering Yale in 1968 at the tender age of 16 was daunting. It was the deadliest year of the Vietnam War. Two of our progressive heroes of the 60’s, Doctor Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy, had been gunned down within a chilling nine-week period.

We were the transitional class of 1972 – the heart and soul of R Inslee Clark’s bold experiment in diversification, the incipient laboratory for coeducation at Yale, and the resilient bridge between the hippie counter culture and the pragmatic yuppie generation. Dress codes, parietal hours, ROTC, Saturday night mixers, and weekend road trips yielded to a kinder and gentler Yale. Reverend Sloane Coffin inspired us to be thoughtful social activists while President Kingman Brewster motivated us to be confident, open-minded leaders.

I am forever grateful to my mother, a high school teacher, guidance counselor and AFT activist who encouraged me to apply to Yale. My life-long bond to our beloved alma mater was rooted in four glorious undergraduate years at Yale, replete with positive experiences. This connection was grounded in the intimacy of the residential college system, the beauty of the campus, the challenge of rigorous coursework, the inspiration of talented faculty, the camaraderie of intramural sports, the gratification of treasured relationships, the satisfaction of community service, the ecstasy of intercollegiate sports and the glory of cherished traditions.

I owe so much to Yale for fostering a thirst for learning, a spirit for creating, a passion for seeking the truth, and a dedication to serving others and repairing the world. Yale nurtured my mind, body, heart and soul and instilled a confidence in my ability to achieve anything that I pursued. Yale’s flexible curriculum permitted me to pursue an innovative major (Combined Sciences) and to conduct cutting-edge research in neuropharmacology with world- famous physician scientists at the Yale Medical School. My close relationship with my mentor and the success of my independent investigation established the foundation for a lifelong interest in scientific and clinical research.

My most meaningful activities at Yale involved volunteering through Dwight Hall, the current Center for Public Service and Social Justice at Yale. This non-profit umbrella organization is the largest campus-based, student-run organization in the United States. Dwight Hall, founded in 1866 as the Young Men’s Christian Association, evolved into an independent non-sectarian program that represents over 85 student-run member groups and engages over 3500 students each year in service and social justice activities. As an undergraduate, I participated in programs as diverse as tutoring elementary students in New Haven, making weekly visits with a schizophrenic patient institutionalized in a state-run psychiatric hospital, caring for toddlers at the Calvin Hill Day Care Center, assisting patients at the Yale New Haven Hospital, and reaching out to the New Haven community during the Black Panther trials. The long-time former director of Yale Volunteer Services, Herb Cahoon, maintained contact with former Dwight Hall volunteers via a yearly newsletter that contained a hand-written personal message at the bottom of the page. This personal connection certainly strengthened my tie to Dwight Hall and to Yale.

My activities at Dwight Hall ushered in a career dedicated to teaching, healing, and serving others. Over the years, my serving on various school, arts and culture, non-profit, and

108

hospital committees; volunteering in a community day care center and the public schools; and coaching youth sports has provided numerous venues for me to be an ambassador for Yale. I have had so many opportunities to share my passion for Yale with individuals I meet in the community, with high school students who have applied to Yale, and with my patients, colleagues and staff. Currently, I am very proud to participate in the annual Yale Day of Service, (established in 2009), which provides unique opportunities to simultaneously represent and connect with Yale, interact with alumni, serve the community, network with community leaders, and lay the groundwork for ongoing year-long community service.

For the past 40 years, I have connected with Yale on numerous fronts: class reunions, mini- reunions, the Yale Club of San Diego (Board of Directors, AYA delegate), Yale Alumni Schools Committee, AYA assemblies, Feb Club, etc.

The Yale Club of San Diego serves almost 2000 alumni and maintains an active membership of about 200. The most popular events are the annual activities which include a Fall Mixer, Annual Dinner, San Diego Crew Classic, Yale Day of Service, Evening at the San Diego Museum of Art, Spring Reception for Admitted High School Students, Feb Club, and the Yale Harvard Football Telecast. When I was on the Board of Directors, I organized the quarterly luncheon lecture series as well as a very successful night with the California Ballet Company.

So, thanks again mom and thanks to YaleGALE for giving me the chance to write a short piece about connecting to Yale.

REFLECTIONS ON MY ROLE AS AN ALUMNA Paula Armbruster ’64 MA

My most successful engagement for alumni relations has been through involvement with Yale undergraduates and graduates. As a faculty advisor, a fellow at Pearson College, as well as a fellow classmate, I was fortunate to have ample opportunity to interact frequently with students. Serving as a mentor to many students made it possible for me to support their continuing involvement with Yale. With both undergraduates and graduates I reinforced how satisfying it is to “give back” by participating in the alumni network such as the Yale clubs offering internships and adopting mentees. While still at the college and the graduate school, they are in a position to appreciate the value of having adult mentors, advisors, internships, and are able to see themselves taking on similar roles in the future. In addition, I believe it important to stress that “giving back” financially is a concrete manifestation of their appreciation for their years at Yale. It is also important to identify and foster early on, while still students, those who have the potential to take on future alumni leadership roles. Often the success of local alumni groups is dependent on the commitment and strength of its leadership.

My role as a Yale Graduate School representative to the Association of Yale Alumni was a unique opportunity to work actively to engage my fellow alumni. Often these individuals feel more loyal to their graduate school, which has launched them on their professional paths, than to their undergraduate schools. I found the group of graduate school alumni receptive participants in alumni endeavors and I would encourage active outreach to them. As an alumna I was as a member of the Advisory Board for the McDougal Graduate School Center at Yale. Since the creation of this Center was an exciting enterprise that gave graduate students an appealing place to meet, interact, and even study, the added benefit of bringing together students from a range of disciplines further enriched their experience at the University, and further developed their ties to the institution.

109

COMMENTS ON ALUMNI RELATIONS Lynn Gunnar Johnson ‘61

I was not active in alumni relations for several years following my graduation from Yale in 1961 for the simple reason that I was busy working, traveling, and becoming an alumnus of three more institutions: Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY, (Master of Divinity, 1967), the University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H. (Master of Arts, Political Science, 1974), and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, 1978).

So my knowledge of Alumni Relations, although limited, includes four academic institutions where I studied, and in addition, one more -- Long Island University.— where I am now employed as Director of the MBA Program (Master of Business Administration).

During the period of 1980 – 1986, I became active in the Yale Alumni Association of Akron and Canton in Ohio. Someone in the group invited me to attend a dinner, and not long afterwards I was asked to become President of the group.

This local alumni group had two main activities. One was an Annual Dinner. Usually a speaker from the national AYA (Association of Yale Alumni) was the main feature of the gathering, which featured news about things going on at the University. It was sometimes a bit difficult getting people to attend these events. There were usually at least 12 or 15 alumni in attendance, however, and it was always enjoyable.

The second activity was Applicant Interviewing. The Admissions Office at Yale provided our local association with the names of high school students from the Akron-Canton area who were applying to Yale. Volunteers from the association then contacted these applicants and arranged to meet and interview them, usually in their own offices or other places of business. The Admissions Office supplied background information on each applicant, plus suggested guidelines for the conduct of the interviews. Those of us who did the interviews would then write up our comments on each applicant and send them to the Admissions Office, where they would be used as part of the file on each student being considered for admission.

Another experience was as part of the AYA Delegate Program. During this time period, I was nominated to be the Akron-Canton delegate to the Association of Yale Alumni. This involved traveling to New Haven and spending a full weekend there as the guest of the university. During this weekend, delegates were given tours of the campus, attended lectures by some of the faculty, and were treated to a special dinner event at which the President of the university (A. Bartlett Giamatti at that time) was the featured speaker. The purpose of the AYA Delegate Program was to rekindle the alumni’s enthusiasm for Yale and to provide information on current happenings that the delegate could take back to his/her local association.

Yale holds periodic Class Reunions for its alumni. I’m sure virtually everyone here has participated in these occasions so I will not comment further on them except to say that they are a great way to keep in touch with one’s classmates over the years.

I should also mention the connections maintained through Student Activity Groups. In addition to the class reunions, some alumni meet with others who participated in various student activities while at Yale. In my case, I was a member of DESMOS, one of Yale’s Secret Societies. DESMOS was an “underground” society, meaning that the names of members were not published. The main purpose of this group was to get to know each of the

110

other 15 or so members at a deeper level, as we shared our personal histories and plans for the future. The 15 surviving members of this group met in April, 2008 in Chicago to get reacquainted – our first meeting as an entire group since graduation, no less than 47 years before! It was an extraordinary occasion and very meaningful to each of us as we compared our experiences over nearly five decades.

Other University Alumni Experiences

University of Michigan: I received my Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1978. Since moving to my present home in Albany, New York, I have attended Michigan alumni events in the Albany area quite regularly.

 This group has annual dinners also, with speakers either from Ann Arbor or from the local area.  Football is a major bonding factor for Michigan alumni/ae. The Albany club organizes gatherings at a local sports bar during the Fall football season to watch some of Michigan’s football games.  Members also contribute towards a scholarship fund for students from the area, and take turns reviewing essays written by the applicants to determine the winners.  Another activity is volunteering at fund-raising events for the Albany Public Television station. Volunteers help the station in its annual membership drive, and though the money goes to the station, the University gets a lot of on-air publicity as participants all wear University of Michigan tee-shirts.

Long Island University: I have worked for Long Island University at its Westchester campus since 2001.

 In terms of tracking alumni/ae, I have been disappointed in the poor performance of my university. LIU simply does not make much of an effort, at least at its branch campuses, to keep in touch with its graduates. I contrast this with the Yale Alumni Association, which seems to find me whenever I change locations (as I have many times over the years) and within a fairly short period of time. Yale does a great job of maintaining postal addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers and regularly updates Class Directories. It would help LIU—and any other university -- if some of the same tracking systems were put in place.

 In an effort to keep in touch with our MBA graduates, I initiated an effort myself to have at least one graduate from each year’s class try to maintain e-mail and phone lists. Last year we had a special dinner honoring three of our most senior faculty, which drew about 40 graduates. It was a wonderful occasion, with former students making remarks about their former teachers. Graduates seem to love seeing their old professors again, which I imagine is true of university graduates the world over.

MY YALE EXPERIENCES AFTER YALE Pamela Rollings, ‘76

After I graduated from Yale in 1976, Yale continued to be an important, ever-increasing part of my life. The first way I stayed connected was through athletics. When I was a freshman in 1972, the sports offerings for women were new, including field hockey and tennis, and Yale was looking to start other teams if there was enough interest. I was recruited by a couple of seniors on the tennis team and helped recruit others to play on the first women’s basketball team at Yale. It started as a club sport but quickly gained varsity status. I was honored to serve as captain of the women’s varsity basketball team at Yale as a junior and senior. It was

111

a real thrill to have my picture taken in my Yale letter sweater on the Yale fence and hung on the wall at Mory’s, a famous club for Yalies where many teams gathered for celebrations, serenaded by the Whiffenpoofs. Continuing to stay in touch as a recent graduate was a natural progression since I knew many of the undergraduates on the team. There was a weekend each year when alumni were invited to play in a fun alumni game and see the team in competition, a tradition which continues to this day.

When I started my legal career in Pittsburgh, I was invited to join the board of the Yale Club of Pittsburgh. This has always been a very active Yale Club chapter, and we are especially fortunate to have a significant private scholarship fund for students attending Yale which helps attract top applicants. I have been involved for many years in interviewing applicants to Yale and especially enjoy those rare occasions when one gets in and I can bask in their success! I have also enjoyed the many activities offered through the Club, including holiday parties, concerts by visiting singing groups, Yale—Harvard game festivities, and in more recent years, the Day of Service and Feb Club events. The key challenge with local Yale Club events is getting younger alumni involved. Our current officers have done a great job of continuing the traditional activities and expanding the opportunities to participate.

An area where local clubs could be of even more service is in helping our students and young graduates obtain summer internships, jobs and interviews for employment. Given the challenging economic environment, Yale connections are all the more important in helping young people gain a foothold in their future careers.

I have made a point of attending almost every reunion of my class and am always very glad to have done so, despite busy times in my career when it would have been easy not to go. I met my husband, Neal Brendel ‘76, a member of the Yale varsity wrestling team, when we were both seniors. Since we are in the same class, we have double the reasons to attend and friends to catch up with at reunions. Just as fun is making new friends with people we might not have known at Yale! The connections we have made with Yale friends and classmates have been important not just on a personal level but also in a business context as well. Both my husband and I as lawyers have had occasion to refer matters to Yale classmates, and we have also enjoyed being on the receiving end.

My husband and I are regular contributors to Yale, primarily through contributions to the athletic programs such as basketball and rugby. I have also contributed to the WISER Fund, an endowment fund founded by Yale women alumni athletes which supports women’s athletics at Yale. My former roommate, Anne Keating, Class of 1977, one of the WISER founders, has also been honored as a recipient of the George H. W. Bush Lifetime of Leadership Award at the Blue Leadership Ball in 2007, which I was honored to attend to celebrate her success.

Encouraging alumni to support Yale through athletics presents some unique challenges. The NCAA regulates collegiate sports, requiring compliance programs and limiting the involvement of alumni. While winning teams can be great in promoting alumni support, losing teams may have the opposite effect. Changes in the sports programs can be upsetting to loyal alumni fans—for example, Yale’s elimination of varsity sports including wrestling in the 1980’s was not viewed favorably by some alumni. There are cost issues as well—athletic programs can be very expensive to run and most sports (with the possible exception of football and basketball) do not have sufficient revenue sources from ticket sales or otherwise to cover the costs. Finally, too much emphasis on athletics may divert from the university’s primary mission. It’s a delicate balance, which universities in the Ivy League are thought to have handled extremely well, allowing for a very high level of athletic competition among student athletes while maintaining the highest academic standards. Varsity athletes at Yale are treated no differently from other students and enjoy the best of amateur athletics without the

112

pressures of premature professionalization. Finally, and ironically, the athletic opportunities at colleges like Yale are more numerous and diverse than they are at schools emphasizing the big pre-professional sports like football and basketball, so many more students can be involved in sports at some level, including through club sports and intramurals.

The importance of the Yale connection has continued through our use of the AYA’s alumni directory to seek out Yale contacts throughout the world. My husband recently opened an office for his law firm in Dubai, UAE, and in preparation for the move, we contacted Yalies in Dubai. We were amazed at the quick welcome we received and have made many new friends in this way. We are now active in the Dubai Yale Club and help with the alumni schools committee interviews there as well as in Pittsburgh. Connecting with young students as they embark on the college experience helps us keep our college years fresh in our minds.

Finally, one of our sons, Ross Brendel, was fortunate enough to be accepted as a student at Yale and is now finishing his junior year. This has given us a whole new appreciation of Yale and all it has to offer, not to mention many more opportunities to connect as parents. Ross plays on the Yale rugby team, a club sport which has developed to the point of now having a full Ivy League schedule, with the opportunity to advance to a national championship. My husband and I have attended several games and Neal joined Ross this spring for an alumni game as part of their alumni weekend. We are looking forward to our son’s graduation in 2011, which should be especially meaningful as it takes place the same week as our next Class of 1976 reunion.

THE ALUMNI RELATIONS JOURNEY Joel Smilow ‘54

My “case study” is an evolution, a journey, not a destination, involving contributions by engagement and heavy philanthropy (I’m told that I am now one of Yale’s top living donors).

For this reason, it’s inappropriate to dwell on only one or two activities.

Undergraduate Years (1950-1954) – I came to Yale as a scholarship student from a public high school in Washington, D.C., the older of two sons of foreign born parents. Yale’s enrollment was about 2/3rds private school grads, virtually 100% uni-cultural, with a high percentage of legacies. They appeared to me to be better prepared for life at Yale in virtually every respect. Therefore, Yale had a challenging and aspirational effect on me clearly influencing my career and my philosophies of service and philanthropy vis-à-vis life in general – with Yale always at or near the top of the list – influenced by appreciation, feeling of attachment and loyalty.

1st Four Postgraduate Years (1954-1958) – Early marriage, the Navy, Harvard Business, and the absence of opportunity resulted in no Yale engagement.

First Involvement - Cincinnati, Ohio (1958-1965) – I joined the Yale Club of Cincinnati and served on its alumni schools committee. The club also fostered engagement/ involvement via University speakers. The schools committee work was very frustrating. A key responsibility was to convert talented students, who were not terribly interested in Yale to apply and then matriculate. Many were reluctant to do so, when my first 2 or 3 applicants were not admitted, I concluded that I did not want to be “selling a product – Yale” which subsequently was not offered; and therefore, I resigned from the committee.

Emerging Alumni Leadership (1965-1985) – In 1965 we moved from Cincinnati to Westport, Connecticut - only a half hour from Yale’s campus and slightly more than 1 hour from NYC. Fairfield County and New York have a very high concentration of Yale Alumni including

113

many of my classmates. Relatively soon thereafter I was invited to become a member of Yale 54’s Class Council (the “governing” body of the Class). Soon the Class asked me to serve as its AYA (Association of Yale Alumni) representative. This led to being nominated for and elected to the AYA Board of Governors, an advisory group of Yale Alumni from all parts of the country.

At the last Class level, in 1979, I chaired the 25th reunion of my Yale Class while also serving on the major gifts committee for reunion fund-raising.

Major Philanthropy Enters the Scene (1986-Present) - With business success I developed an overall giving philosophy of: Do it now, Make a Difference, Get Leverage, and Get Accountability with Yale being an important area of interest/activity. My first seven figure gift endowed the position of Head Coach of Yale Football. At that time, no coaching position at Yale was endowed. Now there are over 15 endowed coaching positions with 6 of them carrying my name. In the early ’90’s Yale launched a major capital campaign and I served as the 2nd leading volunteer. This was followed by a larger gift to expand and totally renovate the Field Center where all of Yale’s outdoor teams – male and female – have locker and changing facilities. In the early 90’s I received the Yale Medal – the highest award for service to Yale.

At about the same time, Yale appointed a new President who in turn recruited a new Athletic Director who was and is highly qualified, energetic, and a passionate advocate about the University’s extensive athletic program. The AD and I developed a close relationship which has been very interesting and enjoyable for me – clearly changing the quality of life.

Meanwhile, the Class Council Nominating Committee asked me to become Treasurer of Yale 1954’s Council for the 5 year period of 1994-1999 to be followed by Class Secretary – from 1999-2004. In 2004 I also ran the highly successful 50th reunion which broke existing records for attendance and fund-raising.

Lastly, two years ago, I pledged the largest gift of my life and became the lead donor for a new cancer hospital – now called the Smilow Cancer Hospital – that will be officially opened on October 21st of this year.

REFLECTIONS Richard Samuelson ‘77

In addition to attending reunions, I have been involved with Yale in three main ways in recent years. While still in working in Tokyo, I was briefly co-president of the Yale club there in 2006, before returning to the United States at the end of that year. We sponsored a variety of speakers and regularly held social gatherings at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo.

After settling back in the US, I began interviewing prospective students for Yale College on behalf of the Alumni Schools Committee. I normally interview four or five students from the South Puget Sound area of Washington State each year--and now and then, one of the students is actually accepted. It is a formidably talented pool of candidates and I find it richly rewarding to engage these young talented minds.

Finally, I was one of many alumni who answered the call to save Mory's, a social club in New Haven long used as a gathering place for students, alumni and friends. The Club was actually in danger of shutting down a few years back. I suppose if you are

114

not from Yale, it is not easy to understand the sentimental attachment we Yalies have for this modest little eatery, but suffice it to say, and as the "Whiffenpoof Song" suggests, it runs deep.

OTHER REFLECTIONS David Hummell ‘62E

Having been born in Yale New Haven Hospital, my connection with Yale goes back a long time. My father was a Yale administrator for nearly his entire career so I grew up on the Yale campus. I can remember attending football games in the days when every seat was filled. Now, with my 50th reunion coming up on May 31, 2012, I will have many fresh memories to share when we arrive in London. I have made numerous trips to New Haven since graduation to see my parents while they were still living. I normally made a Yale component out of these travels having served on an early AYA Board of Governors and attended nearly every class reunion. I continue to interview applicants from the Billings, MT area and am the AYA delegate from the Yale Club of Montana. With these long time connections with Yale I hope to be able to provide some insight to alumni loyalty to our hosts in the UK.

115